BX  8958  .L9  08  1897  c.l 
Osmond,  Jonathan,  1820-1903. 
History  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne,  state  of 


HISTORY 


Presbytery  of  Luzerne 


STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 


Rev.  J.  Osmond, 

TACOMA,  WASH. 

WITH  INTRODUCTION  BY 

REV.   N.   G.   PARKE,   D.   D. 

Published  under  the  Auspices  of  the  Presbyterian 
Historical  Society. 


COPYRIGHT,    1897, 
BY 

REV.  N.  G.  PARKE,  D.  D. 


PRESS  OF  R.   BAUR  &  SON, 
WILKES-BARRE,    PA. 


INTRODUCTION. 


BY  N.   G.   PARKE,   D.   D. 


THE  history  of  a  Presbytery  differs  from  a  biography 
in  this,  that  it  is  the  history  of  an  institution, 
while  biography  is  the  history  of  an  individual.  A 
Presbytery  is  made  up  of  individuals,  and  it  will  be  in 
character  what  the  individuals,  ministers  and  elders, 
comprising  it,  make  it.  Biography  cannot  be  eliminated 
from  church  history,  and,  as  a  result  of  this,  the  history 
of  Luzerne  Presbytery,  as  presented  by  the  Rev.  Jonathan 
Osmond,  is  very  largely  biographical.  The  same  is  true 
of  all  church  history,  including  the  history  of  the  Re- 
formation of  the  1 6th  century. 

Over  what  territory  did  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne 
extend?  What  were  the  conditions  of  the  country — 
social,  commercial  and  religious,  over  which  it  extended  ? 
What  were  its  prospects  and  its  aims  ?  And  what,  under 
divine  guidance,  did  this  Presbytery  accomplish  before 
it  was  merged  in  the  Presbyteries  of  Lackawanna  and 
Lehigh?  were  all  questions  germane  to  the  subject  of  this 
history ;  and  these  questions  Mr.  Osmond  has  attempted 
to  answer  in  connection  with  the  biographical  sketches  of 
the  men  who  did  the  work  in  this  mission  field. 

Mr.  Osmond  came  into  the  Presbytery  shortly  after 
its  organization  and  immediately  after  graduating  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  Here,  with  the  self- 
denying  spirit  of  a  true  Missionary,  he  did  his  first  work. 


IV  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

and  on  this  field  he  learned  to  know  and  to  love  the 
pioneers  with  whom  he  was  here  associated  in  work  for 
the  Master,  and  the  labor  of  preparing  this  history  was 
with  him  a  labor  of  love. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Webster,  of  Mauch  Chunk,  and 
the  Rev.  John  Dorrance,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  the  founders 
of  the  Presbytery,  were  not  common  men.  They  did 
grand  work  for  our  Zion  in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
this  history  is  a  just  tribute  to  their  memory,  from  a 
fellow  laborer,  who  did  as  trying  and  as  successful  work 
on  these  mountains  and  along  these  valleys  as  any  of 
his  brethren. 

It  is  due  to  Mr.  Osmond  to  say  that,  while  the  idea 
of  writing  the  history  of  this  Presbytery  originated  with 
him,  he  did  not  covet  the  work.  He  did  what  he  could 
to  have  it  taken  up  by  someone  else,  and  only  consented 
to  undertake  it  when  it  became  apparent  that,  if  he  did 
not  do  it,  the  work  would  not  be  done. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  our  church  within  the  territorial  bounds  of  this 
Presbytery,  has  been  phenomenal.  In  the  Wyoming  coal 
field  there  .were,  when  the  Presbytery  was  organized,  but 
three  Presbyterian  churches  south  of  Carbondale,  viz  : 
Wilkes-Barre,  Kingston,  and  Lackawanna,  and  one  of 
these  was  an  infant.  Now  there  are  not  less  than  fifty, 
and  among  them  are  some  of  the  strongest  churches  in 
the  State.  In  the  Schuylkill  coal  field  the  growth  has  not 
been  so  rapid. 

The  development  of  the  church  in  this  region  has 
not  been  the  result  merely  of  the  wisdom  and  faithfulness 
of  the  pioneer  missionaries.  The  opening  up  of  the 
hidden  treasures  in  these  mountains  and  valleys  of  anthra- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  V 

cite  coal,  that  brought  bright,  enterprising  Christian  men 
here  with  their  families,  has  had  no  little  to  do  with  it. 
Still  these  early  missionaries  in  this  region  were  wise  in 
their  generation  in  laying  foundations,  and  they  builded 
better  than  they  knew.  They  rest  from  their  labors  and 
their  works  follow  them. 

At  the  time  of  the  union  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  1870,  and  the  formation  of  the 
Lackawanna  Presbytery,  ministers  were  appointed  to 
write  up  the  history  of  the  Presbyteries  that  were  merged 
in  the  new  Presbytery,  and  historical  sermons  were 
preached  accordingly.  But  these  sermons  were  little 
more  than  historical  sketches.  There  was  no  room  to 
speak  of  the  work  done  or  the  men  who  did  it.  Mr. 
Osmond  has  attempted  to  clothe  the  Luzerne  skeleton 
with  flesh,  and  to  give  it  to  the  public  in  a  presentable 
form ;  and  in  doing  so  he  has  added  a  chapter  to  our 
ecclesiastical  history  that  entitles  him  to  the  thanks  of 
the  Presbyterian  people  of  the  anthracite  coal  region  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  that  will  be  recognized  as  a  valuable 
contribution  to  the  historical  literature  of  our  valley. 

Note — The  publication  of  this  history  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  so  remote  from  the  home  of  the  author,  in  Tacoma, 
has  necessitated  supervision  and  partial  editing  in  the 
East.  This  work  has  been  kindly  done  by  his  brother, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  M.  Osmond,  D.  D.,  of  Philadelphia. 


CONTENTS. 

Page 
INTRODUCTION    BY    REV,    N.    G.  PARKE,  D.  D ill 

CHARTER   OF  INCORPORATION xi 

I. 

ORGANIZATION    OF    THE   PRESBYTERY I 

II. 
THE   TERRITORY    OCCUPIED 7 

III. 
EARLY    SETTLEMENTS 1 3 

IV. 

ORIGIN  AND  CHARACTER  OF  THE  SETTLERS 1 6 

V. 

SUSQUEHANNA  PRESBYTERY 29 

VI. 
MAUCH    CHUNK  AND  THE  REV.   RICHARD    WEBSTER  ...      40 

VII. 

THE  REV.  JOHN  DORRANCE,  D.  D.  AND  THE  WILKES-BARRE 

PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH dd 

VIII. 
KINGSTON  CHURCH  AND  ITS  PASTORS I05 


Vin  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

IX. 

THE  REV.  THOMAS    POAGE  HUNT 1 24 

X. 

LACKAWANNA    VALLEY     AND     THE     REV,    NATHAN    GRIER 

PARKE,   D,  D 145 

XI. 

OTHER  EARLY    MINISTERS  OF  THE  PRESBYTER\      .      .     .     .    163 

XII. 

THE    REV.  JACOB   DELVILLE   MITCHELL,  D.  D 1 69 

XIII. 
THE    REV,   B.  F.  BITTENGER,  D.  D 1 73 

XIV. 
THE  REV.  WILLIAM  RENWICK  GLENN,   D.  D.,  AND  SCHUYL- 
KILL  VALLEY    MISSIONS 1 76 

XV. 

THE     REV.     JOHN    JERMAIN     PORTER,    D.   D.,      AND    THE 

KINGSTON   CHURCH 1 79 

XVI. 
THE  REV.  CORNELIUS  RUSTER  LANE,  D.  D I  82 

XVII. 
BERWICK   AND    PORT    CARBON I9I 

XVIII. 
THE     SCRANTON     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH    AND    ITS    PAS- 
TORS      200 

XIX. 

SCRANTON  CHURCH  AND  THE  REV.  JOHN  FABIAN  BAKER   .   2l6 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  IX 

XX. 

SCRANTON  CHURCH  AND  THE  REV.  MILO  J.  HICKOK,  D.  D  .   2  21 

XXI. 

SCRANTON    CHURCH     AND    THE    REV.    SAMUEL   CROTHERS 

LOGAN,  D.  D 228 

XXII. 
GERMAN     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCHES    IN    SCRANTON     AND 

THEIR    PASTORS 24I 

XXIII. 
BEAVER  MEADOW    AND    WHITE    HAVEN    CHURCHES   .      .     .    246 

XXIV. 
NEWTON,  WHITE  HAVEN  AND  ECKLEY. THE  REV.  JONA- 
THAN   OSMOND 252 

XXV. 

THE    REV.    HENRY    HUNTER   WELLES    AS    PASTOR    OF    THE 

KINGSTON  CHURCH 271 

XXVI. 

THE  REV.  REUBEN  POST  LOWRIE 276 

XXVII. 

THE  REV.  JOHN  ARMSTRONG,   D.  D 282 

XXVIII. 
THE  MAUCH  CHUNK  CHURCH  AND    ITS    LATER    PASTORS  .    29I 

XXIX. 

THE    CHURCH    OF   SUMMIT   HILL   AND  PASTORATE  OF  THE 

REV.  JOHN    WHITE 299 

XXX. 

THE  WYOMING  CHURCH  AND  PRESBYTERIAL   INSTITUTE   .   30  2 


X  PRESBYTERY   OF    LUZERNE. 

XXXI. 

THE    CENTRAL    PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH    OF    POTTSVILLE 

AND    ITS    PASTORS 307 

XXXII. 

CONYNGHAM  VALLEY  CHURCH 316 

XXXIII. 

THE     CHURCH     OF      NANTICOKE    AND     THE     REV.     JACOB 

WEIDMAN 318 

XXXIV. 

THE  HARVEY'S  lake  OR  THE  LEHMAN  CHURCH  ....  324 

XXXV. 

the  WILKES-BARRE  CHURCH  AND    ITS    LATER    PASTORS  .325 

XXXVI. 

PORT  CLINTON  CHURCH 332 

XXXVII. 

THE  MAHANOV  CITY  CHURCH 336 

XXXVIII. 

THE  UPPER   LEHIGH    CHURCH 338 

XXXIX. 

THE    CHURCH     OF     MEHOOPANY     CREEK    AND    THE    REV. 

EDWIN  BRONSON 340 

XL. 
THE  PLAINS    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH 341 

XL  I. 

GNADENHUTTEN    CHURCH  342 

CONCLUSION 343 


CHARTER  OF  INCORPORATION. 


THE  TRUSTEES   OF   THE   PRESBYTERY  OF 
LUZERNE. 

To  the  Honorable  John  N.  Conyngham,  and  his  asso- 
sociates,  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of 
the  County  of  Luzerne  : 

The  undersigned,  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania,  are  associated  together  for  religious  pur- 
poses, and  especially  for  providing  houses  of  public 
worship,  for  sustaining  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  and 
affording  the  means  of  education  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  in  accordance  with  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

They  have  prepared,  and  herewith  present  to  your 
Honors,  an  Instrument  in  writing,  specifying  the  objects 
for  which,  and  the  articles,  conditions,  and  name  under 
which  they  have  associated.  And  they  pray  your  Honors 
to  grant  them  a  Charter  of  Incorporation,  under  the  pro- 
visions of  an  Act  of  Assembly  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania,  passed  the  13th  day  of  October,  A.  D. 
1840,  and  entitled  "An  Act  relating  to  Orphans'  Court, 
and  for  other  purposes,"  and  the  various  supplements 
thereunto. 


Xll  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

NAME, 

ARTICLES  AND  CONSTITUTION  OF  INCORPORA- 
TION, 

ABOVE  PRAYED  FOR. 

I.  John  Dorrance,  Thomas  P.  Hunt,  Henry  H. 
Welles,  Ebenezer  H.  Snowden,  Samuel  F.  Colt,  Theo- 
dore Strong,  Andrew  T.  McClintock,  John  Leisen- 
ring,  William  Donaldson,  George  W.  Smith  and 
Samuel  Sherrerd,  and  their  successors,  who  shall  be 
citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  duly 
elected,  and  appointed  in  the  manner  hereinafter  directed, 
shall  be,  and  are  hereby  made,  declared,  and  constituted, 
a  Corporation  or  Body  Politic,  and  Corporate  in  law,  and 
in  fact  to  have  continuance  forever,  by  the  name,  style 
and  title  of  The  Trustees  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lu- 
zerne ;  and  they,  and  their  successors,  by  the  name, 
style,  and  title  aforesaid,  shall  forever  hereafter,  be  per- 
sons able,  and  competent  in  law  to  purchase,  have, 
receive,  take,  hold  and  enjoy  in  fee  simple,  or  for  any 
lesser  estate,  or  estates,  any  lands,  tenements,  rents,  an- 
nuities, franchises,  and  other  hereditaments,  by  gift,  grant, 
bargain,  sale,  alienation,  enfeoffment,  release,  confirm- 
ation, or  devise,  of  any  person,  or  persons,  bodies  politic, 
and  corporate  capable,  and  able  to  make  the  same. 

II.  The  said  Corporation  shall  not  at  any  time  con- 
sist of  more  than  eleven  persons,  (a  majority  of  whom 
shall  always  be  Laymen),  whereof  the  Presbytery  of  Lu- 
zerne may,  at  their  discretion,  at  any  stated  meeting,  as 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  Xlll 

often  as  they  shall  hold  their  sessions  in  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  change  such  a  number,  and  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  the  said  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  it  shall  seem 
proper.  And  the  Corporation  aforesaid  shall  have  power 
and  authority  to  manage,  and  dispose  of,  all  moneys, 
chattels,  lands,  tenements,  and  hereditaments,  and  other 
estate  whatsoever  committed  to  their  care,  and  trust  by 
the  said  Presbytery  of  Luzerne. 

III.  Five  members  of  the  said  Corporation,  whereof 
the  President,  or  in  his  absence  the  Vice  President,  is  to 
be  one,  shall  be  a  quorum  to  transact  the  business  thereof. 
They  shall  meet  at  any  time  at  the  call  of  the  President, 
Provided,  that  at  any  meeting  of  the  Corporation  not 
appointed  by  adjournment,  notice  of  such  meeting  shall 
previously  be  given  to  each  member,  either  verbally,  or 
by  writing  deposited  in  the  Post  Ofhce,  and  properly 
directed,  allowing  the  member  sufficient  time  to  reach  the 
place  designated  for  such  meeting.  And  the  said  Cor- 
poration shall,  and  may,  as  often  as  they  shall  see  proper 
and  according  to  the  rules  by  them  prescribed,  choose  out 
of  their  own  number,  a  president,  vice  president,  and 
such  other  officers  and  servants,  as  shall  by  them,  the  said 
Corporation,  be  deemed  necessary — to  which  officers  the 
said  Corporation  may  assign  such  compensation  for  their 
services,  and  such  duties  so  be  performed  by  them,  to 
continue  in  office  for  such  time,  and  to  be  succeeded  by 
others  in  such  way  and  manner  as  the  said  Corporation 
shall  direct. 

I  V.  All  questions  before  said  Corporation  shall  be 
decided  by  a  plurality  of  votes,  whereof  each  member 
present  shall  have  one,  except  the  president  or  vice 
president  when  acting  as  president,  who  shall  have  only 


XIV  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

the  casting  voice  and  vote,  in  case  of  an  equality  in  the 
votes  of  the  other  members. 

V.  The  said  Corporation  shall  keep  regular  and  fair 
entries  of  their  proceedings  and  a  just  account  of  their 
receipts  and  disbursements,  in  a  book  or  books  to  be  pro- 
vided for  that  purpose.  And  their  Treasurer  shall  once 
in  a  year  exhibit  to  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  an  exact 
statement  of  the  accounts  of  the  Corporation. 

VI.  The  said  Corporation  may  take,  receive,  pur- 
chase, possess,  and  enjoy,  messuages,  houses,  lands,  tene- 
ments, rents,  annuities,  and  other  hereditaments,  and  real 
and  personal  estate  of  any  amount  not  exceeding  in  the 
aggregate  the  clear  annual  value  of  Five  Thousand 
Dollars,  provided  that  "  the  same  shall  not  be  otherwise 
taken,  and  held,  or  inure,  than  subject  to  the  control  and 
disposition  of  the  lay  members  of  said  Corporation,  or 
such  constituted  officers,  or  representatives  thereof,  as 
shall  be  composed  of  a  majority  of  lay  members,  citizens 
of  Pennsylvania,  having  a  controlling  power  according  to 
the  rules,  regulations,  usages,  or  corporate  requirements 
thereof  so  far  as  consistent  herewith." 

VII.  The  said  Corporation,  and  their  successors, 
shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  make,  have,  and 
use  one  common  seal,  with  such  device  and  inscription  as 
they  shall  deem  proper,  and  the  same  to  break,  alter,  and 
renew  at  pleasure.  And  by  the  name,  style  and  title  of 
''The  Trustees  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,"  shall 
be  able,  and  capable  in  law  to  sue  and  be  sued,  plead  and 
be  impleaded,  in  any  Court  or  Courts,  before  any  Judge 
or  Judges,  Justice  or  Justices,  in  all  manner  of  suits,  com- 
plaints, pleas,  causes,  matters  and  demands  whatsoever 
and  all,  and  every  matter,  and  thing  therein  to  do  in  as 


PRESBYTERY   OF    LUZERNE.  XV 

full  and  effectual  a  manner  as  any  other  person  or  persons, 
or  bodies  politic  and  corporate  within  this  Common- 
wealth may,  or  can  do.  And  are  authorized  and  em- 
powered to  make  such  rules,  by-laws,  and  ordinances  as 
they  may  see  fit,  and  to  do  everything  needful  for  the 
good  government  and  support  of  the  affairs  of  the  said 
Corporation.  Provided  Always,  That  the  said  by-laws, 
rules  and  ordinances  or  any  of  them  be  not  repugnant  to 
the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States,  to  the 
constitution  and  laws  of  this  Commonwealth,  or  to  the 
provisions  of  this  charter. 

John  Dorrance, 
Thos.  p.  Hunt, 
H.  H.  Welles, 
E.  H.  Snowden, 
S.  F.  Colt, 
T.  Strong, 
A.  T.  McClintock, 
J.  Leisenring, 
W.  Donaldson, 
G.  W.  Smith, 
S.  Sherrerd, 
Now,  loth  January,  1859,  the  Court  having  perused 
and  examined  the    within    Instrument   and  the    objects, 
articles  and  conditions  therein  set   forth  and  contained 
appearing  lawful  and   not    injurious  to    the    community, 
direct  said  writing  to  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Pro- 
thonotary,  and  also  direct  notice  to  be  inserted  in  one 
newspaper  printed  in  the  County  of  Luzerne  for  at  least 
three  weeks  in  pursuance  of  the  1 3th  Section  of  the  Act 
of  13th  October,    1840,    entitled    "An   act   relating   to 
Orphans'  Courts  and  for  other  purposes." 

By  the  Court. 


XVI  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

Now,  28th  February,  1859,  due  notice  having  been 
given  and  no  reason  shown  to  the  contrary,  the  |Court 
decree  and  declare  by  this  order  that  the  persons  "^^herein- 
before  mentioned  and  associated  shall,  according  to  the 
articles  and  conditions  in  the  foregoing  Instrument  con- 
tained, become  and  be  a  Corporation,  or  body  politic, 
and  further  direct  that  said  Charter  of  Incorporation  shall 
be  recorded  in  the  office  for  recording  of  Deeds  in  Lu- 
zerne County,  and  on  said  Instrument  being  recorded, 
the  persons  associated,  and  their  successors  and  associates, 
shall  become  and  be  a  body  corporate  and  politic,  in  the 
manner  contemplated  by  the  law  in  such  case  made  and 
provided. 

In  Testimony  Whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
hand  and  the  seal  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of 
Luzerne  County,  the  Twenty-eighth  day  of  February, 
A.  D.,  1859. 

David  L.  Patrick, 

ProthoJiotary . 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 


XVI 1 


Luzerne  County,  ss. 

William  P.  Miner,  being  duly  sworn  on  his  oath, 
saith  that  he  is  the  publisher  of  the  Record  of  the  Times, 
a  weekly  newspaper  printed  and  published  in  the  Borough 
of  Wilkes-Barre.  That  he  published  in  his  said  paper  a 
notice  of  which  the  annexed  is  a  copy,  for  three  con- 
secutive weeks,  to  wit :  on  the  26th  of  January  and  the 
2d  and  9th  of  February,  A.  D.,  1859. 

W.  P.  Miner. 


Sworn  and  subscribed  this  twenty- 
third  day  of  February,  A.  D., 
1859,  before  me, 

David  L.  Patrick, 

Prothonotary . 
By  Chase. 


Luzerne  County,  ss. 

Recorded  in  the  office  for  recording  deeds,  &c.,  in 
and  for  said  County,  in  deed  book.  No.  75,  page  500,  &c. 

Witness  my  hand  and  official  seal  this  15th  day  of 
March,  A.  D.,  1859.  Richard  Hutchins, 

pr.  B.  F.  Neur,  Dpt.  Recorder. 


HISTORY 

OF  THE 

PRESBYTERY   OF    LUZERNE. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  PRESBYTERY. 

TWENTY-FIVE  years  ago,  this  Presbytery  ceased  to 
exist.  Twenty-seven  years  measured  its  career  as  a 
constituent  part  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United 
States  of  America. 

In  the  following  sketch,  it  is  proposed  to  trace  its 
origin,  the  antecedents  of  its  constituent  parts,  the 
leadings  of  Providence  which  made  them  Presbyterian, 
and  which  brought  them  into  this  Presbytery;  especially 
the  character  and  work  of  the  founders  of  the  Presbytery, 
the  field  of  its  operations,  the  results  of  those  operations: 
viz.,  the  additions  to  its  working  force,  made  from  time 
to  time,  in  ministers  and  churches,  during  the  period  of 
its  existence. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1843,  ^^ 
New  York  City,  the  Rev.  Gardiner  Spring,  D.  D.,  being 
Moderator,  an  overture  was  presented  to  that  body  by  the 


2  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

Rev.  John  Dorrance,  of  the  Susquehanna  Presbytery,  (as 
we  learn  from  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Corss'  history  of  the 
Susquehanna  Presbytery),  asking  for  the  erection  of  a 
new  Presbytery,  to  be  called  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne; 
which  overture  was  at  once  placed  on  the  docket.  This 
petition  was  presented  by  one  who  was  subsequently 
destined  to  bear  a  conspicuous  part  in  giving  shape  and 
dignity  to  the  institution  sought  at  the  hands  of  the 
Assembly.  The  movement,  however,  originated  with 
another  who  had  already  made  full  proof  of  his  ministry 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  territory  proposed  for  the  new 
Presbytery  and,  like  Mr.  Dorrance  in  the  northern  part, 
was  destined  to  be  a  vital  and  efficient  agent  in  its 
upbuilding,  especially  in  his  part  of  the  important  field. 
This  we  learn  from  Dr.  Cortland  Van  Rensellaer's  sketch 
of  the  life  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Webster,  introductory  to 
Mr.  W.'s  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States. 

When  the  Assembly  reached  the  overture  on  the 
docket,  it  was  fully  discussed  and  passed,  as  follows:  viz.. 

Resolved:  ist.  That  the  Rev.  John  Dorrance,  the 
Rev.  Ebenezer  H.  Snowden,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Susque- 
hanna; together  with  the  churches  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Kingston,  Hanover  and  Lackawanna,  to  be  detached 
from  said  Presbytery;  and  that  the  Rev.  Richard  Webster 
and  the  Rev.  Daniel  Gaston,  together  with  the  churches 
of  Mauch  Chunk,  Beaver  Meadow,  Conyngham  and 
Summit  Hill,  be  detached  from  the  Presbytery  of  Newton; 
and  that  they  be  erected  into  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne; 
and  that  the  churches  of  Berwick  and  Briar  Creek,  now 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Northumberland, 
and  the  church  of  Port  Carbon,  now  under  the  care  of 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE,  3 

the  Second  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  be  attached  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne. 

Resolved:  2nd.  That  all  the  Presbyterian  churches 
that  may  hereafter  be  formed  in  the  counties  of  Luzerne, 
Schuylkill,  Carbon,  and  the  township  of  Briar  Creek  in 
Columbia  county,  until  otherwise  ordered  by  competent 
authority,  shall  be  formed  under  the  direction  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  and  continue  under  the  care  of 
said  Presbytery. 

Resolved :  3rd.  That  the  first  meeting  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Luzerne  shall  be  held  in  Wilkes-Barre,  on  the 
third  Tuesday  of  September,  at  7  o'clock  p.  m.,  and  that 
said  meeting  be  opened  with  a  sermon  by  the  Rev. 
Richard  Webster,  or,  in  case  of  his  absence,  by  the 
oldest  minister  present. 

Resolved:  4th.  That  after  the  organization  of 
Luzerne  Presbytery,  Mr.  Charles  Evans,  now  a  licentiate, 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Newton  be  under  the 
care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  and  that  said  Presby- 
tery be  connected  with  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey.  (See 
minutes  of  General  Assembly  for  1843.) 

The  Presbytery,  thus  erected,  consisted  of  ministers 
and  churches  detached  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
Church  from  four  other  Presbyteries,  belonging  to  two 
Synods.  The  greater  area  of  territory  having  been  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  the  Presby- 
tery was  assigned  to  it  rather  than  the  Synod  of 
Philadelphia.  Prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the 
Assembly  (the  only  court  that  could  act  for  all  the 
parties  in  interest)  was  demanded  by  the  conditions  of 
the  territory  thus  provided  for,  and  the  inevitable 
difficulties  that  would  arise  from  delay  in  order  to    secure 


4  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

concurrent  petitions  from  all  the  different  parties 
concerned.  Such  delay  would  have  been  equivalent  to  an 
indefinite  postponement  of  the  whole  matter,  and  to  the 
disadvantage  of  all  the  interests  involved.  This,  doubt- 
less, is  now  obvious  to  the  brethren  of  Susquehanna 
Presbytery,  who  at  the  time  felt  aggrieved  by  what  they 
regarded  as  hasty  action.     (See  Mr.  C's  Hist,  of  S.  P.) 

The  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  was  organized  at  the 
time  fixed  for  its  first  meeting  by  the  General  Assembly. 
There  were  present,  at  the  appointed  place,  the  following 
ministers,  viz.>  John  Dorrance,  Richard  Webster, 
Ebenezer  Hazard  Snowden,  and  Daniel  Gaston,  all  that 
were  named  in  the  action  of  the  Assembly ;  and  from  the 
churches  named,  the  following  elders,  viz.,  John  O. 
Baker  of  Wilkes-Barre,  R.  Robins  of  Hanover,  E.  S. 
Warne  of  Port  Carbon,  A.  H.  Van  Cleve  of  Beaver 
Meadow,  John  Doak  of  Berwick,  Daniel  Melleck  of 
Briar  Creek.  Later,  elder  Elijah  Crouch  of  Lackawanna, 
and  Charles  Fuller  of  Kingston,  put  in  an  appearance. 
The  full  attendance  of  elders  at  this  meeting,  Sept.  7, 
1848,  speaks  well  for  the  local  churches.  The  Rev. 
Richard  Webster  preached  the  opening  sermon,  according 
to  appointment,  after  which  the  Rev.  E.  H.  Snowden 
was  elected  Moderator,  Daniel  Gaston,  temporary  clerk, 
John  Dorrance.  treasurer,  and  Richard  Webster,  stated 
clerk.  The  new  Presbytery  was  found  to  have  under  its 
care  (owing  to  their  relation  to  its  churches)  John  W. 
Sterling,  Alexander  Dilley,  and  John  Brown,  candidates 
for  the  ministry.  Mr.  Dilley  was  subsequently,  at  his 
own  request,  dropped  from  the  number. 

The  Rev.  Thomais  P.  Hunt  was  received  by  letter 
from    the    Presbytery   of   Susquehanna.      Two    churches 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  5 

from  the  Presbytery  of  Northumberland  had  been  detached 
to  form  part  of  the  new  Presbytery,  but  no  ministers  were 
named  in  connection  with  them,  therefore  the  Rev. 
Aaron  H.  Hand,  stated  supply  of  Berwick  and  Briar 
Creek  churches,  was  received  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Flint  River;  also  the  Rev.  William  Hunting,  from  the 
Presbytery  of  Long  Island. 

The  new  Presbytery  concurred  with  the  request  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna  already  made,  that  the 
Synod  of  New  Jersey  set  over  to  it  the  churches  of 
Northumberland,  and  Falls  (now  Newton). 

At  this  first  meeting,  the  Presbytery,  in  conformity 
with  the  design  of  its  erection,  laid  out  its  work  and 
shaped  its  measures  to  overtake  the  missionary  effort 
which  the  numerous  destitutions  in  its  extended  territory 
so  loudly  demanded.  It  made  the  Rev.  Thomas  P. 
Hunt  its  missionary  or  Pastor  at  Large,  and  well  he 
performed  the  arduous  work  assigned  him.  It  arranged 
for  a  close  correspondence  with  Princeton  Seminary,  in 
order  to  secure  men  of  the  right  stamp  for  its  new  or 
destitute  fields.  It  instructed  Mr.  Webster  to  prepare  a 
suitable  Pastoral  Letter,  setting  forth  the  work  needed  in 
the  Presbytery,  and  calling  earnestly  for  co-operation  in 
its  performance.  And  that,  in  the  future  deliberations  of 
the  Presbytery,  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  condition 
and  wants  of  the  various  parts  of  its  wide  field  might  be, 
from  time  to  time,  obtained,  it  provided  for  a  conference, 
at  its  stated  meetings,  with  reference  to  the  exact 
condition  of  things,  spiritual  and  material,  in  its  several 
fields  of  operation;  and,  in  order  that  the  members  of  the 
Presbytery  might  aid  each  other  in  maintaining  the 
proper    standard    of    personal    Christian    experience,    a 


O  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

subject  of  experimental  religion  was  selected  at  each 
meeting  to  be  the  theme  of  conference  at  the  next  stated 
meeting.  And  last,  but  not  least,  in  order  to  the 
encouragement  of  vital  energy  in  their  work,  a  good 
measure  of  time  for  direct  acts  of  devotion  and  study  of 
the  divine  word  was  set  apart  at  each  meeting.  For  it 
was  realized  that  it  was  not  by  might  or  by  power,  but 
by  God's  Spirit,  that  the  transforming  work,  the  ultimate 
aim  in  all  the  operation  of  the  church,  is  performed ;  and 
that  for  the  Spirit  to  do  this,  God  will  be  inquired  of. 
Thus  the  work  of  the  Presbytery  was  inaugurated  at 
Wilkes-Barre. 


II. 

THE   TERRITORY  OCCUPIED. 

THIS  territory  and  its  occupancy  by  the  white  man 
demands  more  than  a  passing  notice.  The  largest 
of  the  counties,  as  comprising  the  limits  of  the  Presbytery 
indicated  above,  gave  its  name  to  the  new  ecclesiastical 
body.  Luzerne  county  had  been  much  larger,  but,  from 
time  to  time,  new  counties  had  been  established.  Its 
territory,  in  1843,  was  greatly  reduced;  and  during  the 
existence  of  the  Presbytery  the  county  of  Wyoming  was 
taken  from  its  limits  and,  of  course,  still  remained  in  the 
Presbytery.  No  changes  in  the  limits  of  the  Schuylkill 
and  Carbon  counties  were  made  between  1843  ^'^^  1870. 

These  counties  are  mountainous,  and  generally  of 
irregular  surface,  yet  having  several  elevated  plateaus  or 
surfaces  more  nearly  approximating  the  plain.  They  are 
watered  by  the  North  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  the 
Lackawanna,  Lehigh  and  Schuylkill  rivers,  and  a  number 
of  smaller  streams  which  are  tributaries  to  these  rivers. 

The  valleys  of  all  these  streams,  while  often  narrow 
and  originally  covered  with  dense,  heavy  timber  through 
which  it  was  difficult  to  pass,  afforded  much  land  which 
attracted  the  early  settlers,  notwithstanding  the  difficulty 
of  reaching  it. 

The  irregular  and  obstructive  topography  of  many 
parts  of  our  country  are  often  found  to  have  been  a  wise 
and    beneficent    arrangement,    that    ultimately    magnifies 


8  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

the  great  Creator,  and  wonderfully  benefits  His  rational 
creatures.  A  remarkable  illustration  of  this  is  afforded  in 
the  territory  covered  by  this  Presbytery.  Much  of  it  was 
so  secluded  that,  until  recently,  it  was  literally  unknown  ; 
yet,  in  these  hidden  valleys,  and  on  and  under  these 
unproductive  mountains  untold  wealth  had  been  stored 
by  the  beneficent  Creator. 

The  boundaries  of  the  Presbytery  and  those  of  the 
great  anthracite  coal  field  in  Pennsylvania  are  almost 
co-terminous.  The  history  of  the  Presbytery  i)roper  runs 
parallel  with  the  real  development  of  the  anthracite  coal 
trade  in  this  country,  and  kindred  industries,  which,  by 
its  enlargement,  were  developed  in  the  communities 
where  coal  was  produced  or  mined. 

These  new  or  more  perfectly  develoi)ed  industries 
attracted  to  this  part  of  Pennsylvania  a  vast  increase  of 
population,  and  radically  changed  the  relations  of  this 
part  of  the  State  to  the  great  cities  on  every  side,  and, 
indeed,  to  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world. 

Up  to  about  the  time  Luzerne  Presbytery  was 
constituted  the  people  were  only  learning  how  to  use 
anthracite  coal;  that  problem  having  been  settled,  the 
question  had  been  raised,  but  not  fully  settled,  as  to  how 
it  could  be  transported  to  the  places  where  it  was  hoped 
it  would  be  wanted.  In  view  of  the  previous  seclusion, 
and  the  obstacles  to  be  overcome,  much  had  been  done 
towards  preparing  means  for  transporting  coal  from 
different  parts  of  the  territory  which  we  are  describing; 
but  much  more  was  demanded  at  the  time  of  our  Presby- 
tery's organization. 

Coal  had  been  floated  down  the  Susquehanna  on 
arks,    and    used    to    some  extent  by   blacksmiths  at  the 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  9 

government  barracks  at  Carlisle  in  1776;  but  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  in  very  general  demand,  and  during 
the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  used  to  any  great  extent,  even  by  the  smiths. 
The  people  had  not  learned  to  use  it  for  domestic 
purposes. 

Messrs.  White,  Hazard,  and  Company,  in  Philadel- 
phia, successfully  used  anthracite  coal  in  the  manufacture 
of  iron  in  1826.  This  company  had  leased,  in  1817,  the 
original  "Coal  Mine  Company's"  property  near  Mauch 
Chunk  for  one  ear  of  corn,  annually,*  and  subsequently 
bought  all  the  stock  of  said  Company,  which  consisted 
of  Messrs.  Robert  Morris,  J.  Anthony  Morris,  Cist, 
Waist,  Hillegas,  and  others,  who  had  secured  six  thousand 
acres  of  land  and  opened  a  quarry  in  1792  to  test  the 
character  and  value  of  the  coal.  In  1798,  this  Company 
obtained  a  charter  for  a  sluice  navigation,  and  this  also 
became  the  property  of  Messrs.  White,  Hazard  and 
Company,  which  corporation  finally  became  the  famous 
"Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation  Company,"  that  has  done 
so  much  to  develop  the  coal  trade  and  to  promote  the 
prosperity  of  the  country  generally. 

The  term  'quarry'  is  applied  to  the  production  of 
coal,  as  just  mentioned,  because  the  method  at  first 
pursued  in  this  part  of  the  general  coal  field,  was  to 
remove  the  earth  from  the  strata  and  then  remove  the 
coal.  This,  at  the  original  mine  at  Summit  Hill,  was 
more  easily  done  than  almost  anywhere  else,  and 
exhibited  a  wealth  of  deposit  which  has  never  been 
excelled,  if  ever  equalled,  in  the  entire  anthracite  field. 

*They  were,  however,  bound  to  deliver  in  Pliiladelphia  40,cx30  bushels  of 
coal  for  their  own  benefit. 


lO  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

If  all  the  coal  strata  had  been  allowed  to  lie  as  far  below 
the  surface  as  the  great  majority  of  them  do,  they  would 
have  been  much  longer  undisturbed,  and  we  would  have 
been  longer  without  the  benefits  they  bring.  But  the 
benevolent  Creator,  as  in  this  case,  wisely  gives  us  clues 
to  the  discovery  of  undeveloped  treasures,  whether 
material  or  those  of  greater  value, — not  many,  indeed, 
but  always  enough.  The  stratum  on  Summit  Hill  in 
Carbon  county  has  led  many  through  the  deep  superin- 
cumbent earth  and  rock  to  the  black  diamond  beneath. 

In  1820  the  Lehigh  navigation  was  so  far  improved 
that  365  tons  of  coal  were  sent  through  it  to  Philadelphia. 
To  the  same  market,  from  the  Schuylkill  region,  1480 
tons  of  coal  went  through  the  canal  on  the  Schuylkill 
river  in  1822;  the  canal  had  been  projected  in  1814. 

The  famous  "Switch-back  railroad"  from  the  Lehigh 
at  Mauch  Chunk,  to  the  mines  at  Summit  Hill,  nine 
miles  distant,  was  completed  in  1827,  the  cars  of  which 
were  drawn  up  the  steep  mountain  side  by  stationary 
engines  on  two  different  summits  as  our  cable  street  cars, 
and  were  arranged  for  passengers,  affording  the  tourist,  for 
whose  accommodation  especially  these  cars  were  pro- 
vided, a  thrilling  ride  and  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
striking  scenery  unfolding  to  his  vision.  The  return 
behind  a  long  train  of  coal  cars,  by  gravity,  and  over  a 
circuitous  and  longer  course  on  the  mountain  side,  is  not 
less  exciting,  and  is  more  dangerous.  This  unique 
railroad,  built  for  the  purpose  of  moving  the  coal  from 
the  mines  to  the  river,  was,  with  the  exception  of  the 
railroad  in  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  the  first  built  in  the 
country.  It  is  a  monument  of  the  skill  and  enterprise 
of  the  Lehigh  company. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  II 

The  Carbondale  field,  or  Upper  Lackawanna  valley, 
was  opened  up  to  the  markets  in  1829  by  the  Delaware 
and  Hudson  Canal  and  Railroad,  the  latter  running 
towards  the  Delaware  river  by  gravity. 

The  region  of  Scranton  was  not  reached  by  railroad 
till  1854,  but  that  part  of  the  great  coal  field  has  since 
overtaken  all  competitors  in  every  part  of  the  State. 

The  Pennsylvania  canal  was  opened  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pittston,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Lackawanna,  in  1843. 

The  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad  had  fully 
opened  up  the  Schuylkill  region  in  1841. 

Thus  the  facilities  for  the  more  rapid  and  certain 
development  of  the  new  and  profitable  industries  which 
Providence  was  bringing  to  light  were  being  secured,  and 
increased  in  accordance  with  the  expectations  of  sagacious 
men,  one  of  whom  had  entered  upon  a  career  of  useful- 
ness in  the  moral  upbuilding  of  the  growing  communities 
for  which  the  Luzerne  Presbytery  was  designed  to 
provide.  Before  its  erection,  he  had  publicly  said  to  his 
brethren,  "All  the  railroads  in  the  United  States  will 
enter  in  this  Wyoming  Valley,"  and  of  course  traverse 
the  other  parts  of  the  great  coal  field.* 

We  find  that  while  the  material  interests  of  the 
anthracite  coal  region  were  advancing,  God  was  preparing 
the  men  who  were  to  devote  themselves  to  the  moral  and 
spiritual  interests  of  the  increasing  population,  and  to  the 
counteracting  of  new  and  stronger  temptations  to  world- 
liness  and  vice,  that  were  also  coming  in.  Quite  a 
number  of  these  devoted  men  were  already  on  the  ground 
and  in  training  for  their  important  work.  They  were  the 
representatives     of    the     various     evangelical    churches, 

*Rev.  T.  p.  Hunt. 


12  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE, 

working  and   expecting   to    work    in    their    own    chosen 
divisions  of  the  great  army  of  salvation. 

As,  however,  these  pages  are  especially  designed  to 
recount  the  character  and  achievements  of  those  who 
were  engaged  on  foundation  work  in  connection  with  the 
career  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery,  they  will  claim  our 
exclusive  attention,  and  exhaust  our  space  and  time. 


<m 


III. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENTS. 

THE  territory  above  described  had  marked  peculiari- 
ties, and  so  the  original  settlers  have  a  history  which 
is  unique.  This  is  especially  true  with  regard  to  the  early 
settlers,  and  to  the  settlements  made  in  the  county 
of  Luzerne,  and  the  northern  part  of  the  field  to  be 
occupied  by  our  Presbytery. 

The  motives  which  first  brought  the  white  man 
thither,  and  gave  shape,  in  some  good  measure,  to  the 
institutions  which  were  subsequently  established,  were 
altogether  dissimilar  to  the  motives  which  afterwards  so 
greatly  increased  the  population  of  the  same  localities, 
and  modified  the  pursuits  of  the  people.  The  first 
settlers  in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania  came  thither  to  find 
quiet  homes,  and  to  devote  themselves  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  They  came  from  the  then  colony  of  Connec- 
ticut. They  regarded  themselves  as  simply  moving  to 
parts  of  its  more  western  territory,  granted  them  in  their 
charter  from  the  King  of  England,  and  acquired  by 
purchase  from  "the  Six  Nations"  in  1754,  by  an 
association  formed  in  Connecticut,  called  "The  Connec- 
ticut and  Susquehanna  Company."  No  settlement  how- 
ever, was  attempted  till  1762.  The  next  year  these 
settlers  were  dispersed  by  the  Indians,  and  many  of  them 
slain.  In  1769  a  body  of  forty  Connecticut  pioneers  was 
sent    thither    by    the    "Connecticut    and    Susquehanna 


14  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

Company,"  but  found  themselves  forestalled  by  some 
Pennsylvanians,  the  Six  Nations  having  the  previous 
year  sold  again  this  territory  to  the  proprietaries  of 
Pennsylvania.* 

The  above  reference  indicates  the  beginning  of  the 
conflict  which  lasted  six  years,  and  was  fiercely  waged, 
between  the  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvanian  settlers.  The 
former  obtained  the  mastery  so  far  as  to  establish  their 
settlement,  and  several  considerable  towns,  as  "West- 
moreland," which  had  in  1778  a  population  of  two 
thousand.  This  was  the  principal  town  in  the  charming 
valley  of  Wyoming.  The  name  was  afterwards  changed 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  in  honor  of  two  British  statesmen  who 
warmly  advocated  the  cause  of  the  Americans,  to  which 
both  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania  were  signally  loyal, 
from  the  first  movement  in  the  direction  of  American 
independence.  The  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania 
claimants  seemed  to  forget  their  rivalry  in  their  mutual 
resistance  to  what  they  regarded  the  injustice  and 
oppression  of  the  British  Ministry,  and  they  bravely 
withstood  the  hostile  forces  that  had  found  their  way  to 
their  secluded  homes  among  the  mountains,  on  the  30th 
of  June,  1778.  From  these  homes  there  had  already 
been  many  responses  to  the  colonial  call,  aud  many 
of  the  leading  settlers  had  bravely  fallen  in  the  conflict, 
so  that  when  Col.  John  Butler  led  four  hundred  British 
soldiers,  and  seven  hundred  Indians  against  the 
colony,  it  was  with  greatly  reduced  numbers  that 
the  remaining  settlers,  under  the  leadership  of  Col, 
Zebulon  Butler,  courageously  withstood  the  enemy,  when 
called  to  surrender  the  fort,  called  '^Forty  Fort,"  from 

*See  American  Encyclopedia.    Article,  Wyoming. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 5 

the  forty  original  Connecticut  settlers.  With  less  than 
a  third  of  the  force  coming  against  them,  Col.  Zebulon 
Butler,  a  Continental  officer,  then  in  command  of  the 
home  Fort,  decided  to  risk  a  battle,  and  on  the  3rd 
of  July  marched  his  command  against  the  invaders. 
The  battle  was  lost ;  the  remnant  retreated  to  the  Fort 
which  they  were  obliged  to  surrender,  after  having 
obtained  a  promise  from  the  British  commander  of  hon- 
orable treatment  for  the  prisoners,  which  promise  was 
shamefully  disregarded.  The  "Massacre  of  Wyoming" 
need  not  be  described  here;  its  horrors  are  familiar  to 
every  student  of  the  general  history  of  our  country. 


^ 


IV. 

ORIGIN    AND   CHARACTER  OF  THE   SETT- 
LERS. 

THE  lull  which  prevailed  in  the  strife  between  the  Con- 
necticut and  Pennsylvania  people  was  again  broken. 
In  1782  a  congressional  commission,  appointed  to 
consider  the  title  to  the  territory  in  dispute,  reported  in 
favor  of  Pennsylvania.  But  that  State  found  it  difficult 
to  dispossess  the  Connecticut  soldiers  of  their  claims, 
which  they  defended  with  arms,  and  the  old  conflict  was 
renewed  for  several  years  longer.  The  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania,  1787,  confirmed  the  titles  of  the  Connecti- 
cut claimants ;  but  it  seems  that  more  or  less  conflict 
with  reference  to  the  claims  continued  to  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century.  The  permanent  and  major  part 
of  the  settlers  north  of  Hanover,  on  the  bank  of  the 
Susquehanna  and  Lackawanna  rivers,  were  Connecticut 
or  New  England  people.  Therefore,  as  they  gave  shape 
to  the  rising  institutions  in  these  settlements,  which 
embraced  a  large  majority  of  the  early  citizens  of  Luzerne 
county,  we  are  more  deeply  interested  in  their  antece- 
dents; and  in  order  to  understand  these,  we  must  briefly 
refer  to  the  history  of  the  Connecticut  colony. 

Settlements  were  made  on  the  Connecticut  river  by 
people  from  Massachusetts  colony  as  early  as  1631, 
occupying  several  points  near  Hartford,  New  Haven  and 
New  Belgium.    These  settlements  grew  so  rapidly  that  they 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1/ 

soon  overpowered  the  Dutch  who  had  attempted  to  es- 
tablish trading  posts  in  the  same  vicinity. 

The  character  of  the  English  population,  the  close 
affiliation  which  they  ever  maintained  with  Roger 
Williams  and  his  colony,  and  the  fact  that  Quakers,  and 
others  not  welcomed  in  Massachusetts,  were  cordially 
received  in  the  new  settlements  of  the  Connecticut  valley, 
indicate  a  rebound  from  the  intolerance  of  the  mother 
colony.  This  early  indication  became  a  demonstrated 
fact  by  the  charter  which  was  secured  from  England, 
dictated  in  the  colony  itself,  and  which  so  long  and  so 
happily  shaped  the  administration  of  its  government, 
both  as  a  colony  and  as  "  a  sovereign  State,"  continuing 
to  be  the  fundamental  law  till  1818. 

The  one  man  who,  above  all  others,  made  Connecti- 
cut a  model  colony,  combining  all  its  settlements  under 
one  charter,  and  who  exerted  such  a  wise  and  helpful 
influence  as  to  make  it  felt  immediately  and  generally, 
not  only  in  the  Connecticut  colony,  but  in  other 
colonies  as  well,  and  whose  salutary  influence  is  still  felt 
throughout  the  great  nation  whose  foundations  were  then 
being  laid, — that  man  was  the  younger  Winthrop. 

His  father  had  been,  and  still  was,  devoting  his  life 
and  energies  toward  making  Massachusetts  what  that 
great  colony  became.  The  son,  a  man  of  much  more 
culture  and  breadth  of  view,  and  of  equal  piety  and 
devotion  to  human  advancement,  fully  identified  himself 
with  the  upbuilding  of  Connecticut. 

In  addition  to  his  godly  and  careful  training  in  his 
Puritan  home,  John  Winthrop  had  received  a  liberal 
education  in  Cambridge  and  Dublin.  Of  him  Bancroft 
says,   "Even  as  a  child   he   had   been   the   pride  of  his 


l8  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

father's  house;"  and,  that  his  scholastic  education  "had 
been  perfected  by  visiting,  in  part  at  least,  in  the  public 
service,  not  France  and  Holland  only  in  the  days  of 
Prince  Maurice  and  Richelieu,  but  Venice  and  Constanti- 
nople." "From  boyhood  his  manners  had  been  spotless, 
and  the  purity  of  his  soul  added  lustre  and  beauty  to  the 
gifts  of  nature  and  industry."  This  was  the  man  whose 
personal  agency  secured  from  Charles  II,  soon  after 
the  restoration  of  the  Monarchy,  in  England,  his  sanction 
to  that  liberal  and  comprehensive  charter  under  which 
Connecticut  lived  so  long,  having  sedulously  protected  it 
from  revocation  by  James  II.  The  famous  Con- 
necticut charter,  most  liberal  in  terms  and  providing 
for  complete  autonomy,  with  no  provision  for  submitting 
the  acts  of  the  colony  to  the  revision  of  the  crown, 
granted  to  the  colony  all  the  territory  from  the  Narragan- 
sett  river  westward  and  to  cover  the  42nd  degree  of 
latitude  to  the  Pacific  ocean ;  excepting  only  such  lands 
as  were  then  occupied  by  prior  settlers ;  namely,  New 
York  and  New  Jersey.* 

Winthrop's  personal  approach  to  Charles  II,  in 
behalf  of  Connecticut,  which  he  represented,  was  during 
the  year  1662,  which  was  soon  after  the  adoption  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly's  Confession,  Catechism  and 
Church  Directory  by  the  British  Parliament.  The 
preponderating  party  in  said  Assembly  had  been  Presby- 
terian, and  that  religious  body  (especially  in  Scotland) 
had  been  active  and  influential  in  the  restoration  of  the 
Monarchy.  The  Connecticut  colony,  too,  had  at  once 
sanctioned  the  restoration  of  Charles  II,  and  was 
evidently  in  sympathy  with   the  Presbyterian  party  in  its 

*See  Mr.  Piatt's  Reminiscences  of  Scranton. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 9 

course,  rather  than  the  Massachusetts  colony,  understood 
to  be  with  the  Independents,  and  which  hesitated  about 
recognizing  the  new  king.  In  addition  to  these  consid- 
erations, we  find  Winthrop  aided  in  his  work  by  the 
Presbyterian  officials,  who  still  surrounded  the  person 
of  the  king,  and  readily  received  by  Charles  himself. 
It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  Presbyterian  influence  contri- 
buted largely  to  Winthrop's  success;  nor  was  the 
impression  without  foundation,  that  what  was  being 
granted  was  bestowed  on  Presbyterians;  as  it  is  probable 
that  the  major  part  of  the  early  settlers  in  Connecticut 
were  of  that  faith.  Mr,  Pierson,  who  led  the  Presbyterian 
movement  in  the  early  part  of  the  i8th  century,  was  from 
Connecticut.  Indeed,  they  were  accustomed  to  be 
called,  and  called  themselves,  Presbyterians.  Trumbull 
says  of  the  Assembly  that  drew  up  the  Saybrook  platform 
subsequently  adopted  :*  "Though  the  Council  were 
unanimous  in  passing  the  platform  of  discipline,  yet  they 
were  not  all  of  one  opinion.  Some  were  for  high 
con-associational  government,  and  their  sentiments 
nearly  Presbyterian ;  others  were  much  more  moderate, 
verging  on  independency."  Dr.  Hodge  adds:  "The 
result  of  their  labors  proves  that  the  former  class  had 
greatly  the  ascendency." 

"The  influence  of  Presbyterian  principles  in  New 
England  is,  however,  much  more  satisfactorily  proved  by 
the  nature  of  the  ecclesiastical  systems  which  were  there 
adopted  than  by  any  statement  of  isolated  facts.  These 
systems  were  evidently  the  result  of  compromise  between 
the  two  parties,  and  they  show  that  the  Presbyterian  was 
much  stronger  than  the  Independent  element."     This  is 

♦Hodge's  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  U.  S. 


20  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

also  abundantly  evident  so  far  as  the  settlers  from 
Connecticut  in  Pennsylvania  were  concerned. 

Charles  II,  whom  Winthrop  seems  to  have  known 
and  approached  personally,  still  felt  the  obligations 
he  was  under  to  Presbyterian  influence  in  his  restoration 
to  what  he  and  they  regarded  his  hereditary  right  to  the 
crown  of  England.  This,  together  with  his  careless  and 
impulsive  habits,  led  him  to  sanction  without  examination 
on  his  part,  or  that  of  his  secretaries,  the  charter  which 
had  been  drawn  in  the  Connecticut  colony  and  to  which 
he  was  asked  to  set  the  royal  seal.  This  he  did  in  1662. 
Not  long  afterwards,  however,  Charles  sanctioned  "the 
Act  of  Uniformity"  by  which  two  thousand  of  the  most 
godly  and  learned  ministers  in  England  were  deprived  of 
their  churches  and  support,  very  many  of  them  Presby- 
terians. Their  style  and  teachings  did  not  suit  "a 
gentleman"  of  his  type,  therefore  he  soon  forgot  his 
recognized  obligations  to  them. 

When  William  Penn,  19  years  after  the  date  of  the 
Connecticut  charter,  obtained  a  liberal  charter  for  his 
colony  in  Pennsylvania,  Lord  North  carefully  revised 
that  instrument  to  protect  the  prerogatives  of  the  king, 
before  the  seal  was  applied,  although  Penn  was  a  favorite 
at  court.  It  is  perhaps  due  to  this  fact  that  more  definite 
statements  and  limitations  were  secured  in  Penn's  charter; 
and  this  subsecjuently  gave  Pennsylvania  the  advantage  in 
the  final  settlement  of  the  boundaries  between  that  State 
and  Connecticut.  However  this  may  have  been,  Win- 
throf)  was  a  wise  and  fiir-seeing  statesman.  What  he 
secured  for  Connecticut  as  the  residuum  of  her  western 
claim,  granted  in  the  charter  from  Charles  11,  was  that 
in     ceding     to     the     General     Government    (afterwards 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  21 

established)  her  western  lands,  she  retained  that  part 
of  Ohio  which  is  known  to  us  as  "The  Western  Reserve" 
and  which  became  the  source  of  Connecticut's  princely 
school  fund,  which  has  done  so  much  for  the  cause 
of  education,  not  only  in  Connecticut  and  Ohio,  but 
through  the  country  generally.  A  debt  of  gratitude  is 
due  from  us  all,  not  only  to  Winthrop,  who  obtained 
such  a  liberal  charter  for  his  colony,  but  to  the  sturdy 
colonist  as  well  who  successfully  concealed  it  in  a  hollow 
oak  when  the  agents  of  the  king  sought  to  revoke  it. 

The  schools  and  churches  established  and  fostered 
in  Connecticut  secured  to  that  colony  prosperity,  liberty, 
order  and  happiness,  Bancroft  says,  "There  never 
existed  a  persecuting  spirit  in  Connecticut,  while  it  had  a 
scholar  to  its  minister  in  every  town  or  village."  Edu- 
cation was  cherished,  religious  knowledge  was  carried  to 
the  highest  degree  of  refinement,  alike  in  the  application 
to  moral  duties,  and  to  the  mysterious  questions  on  the 
nature  of  God,  of  liberty  and  the  soul.  A  hardy  race 
multiplied  along  the  alluvial  streams,  and  subdued  the 
more  rocky  and  less  inviting  fields ;  its  population 
doubled  once  in  twenty  years,  in  spite  of  considerable 
emigration.  And  if,  as  has  often  been  said,  the  ratio 
of  the  increase  of  population  is  the  surest  criterion  of 
public  happiness,  Connecticut  was  long  the  happiest  state 
in  the  world.  Religion,  united  with  the  pursuit  of 
agriculture,  gave  the  land  the  aspect  of  salubrity.* 

It  was  a  part  of  this  Connecticut  that  made  the  first 
settlements  in  the  valley  of  the  north  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna  and  the  Lackawanna  rivers,  which  the 
people  of  that  state  then  regarded  as  watering  a  part  of 

*See  Bancroft,  Vol.  2,  pp.  56-57. 


22  PRESBYTERY    OF   LUZERNE. 

their  western  domain.  True,  these  valleys  were  widely 
separated  from  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  or  the  main 
western  settlement  of  the  colony,  and  to  reach  their  new 
homes  was  no  very  easy  task ;  but  it  was  a  task  heroically 
undertaken.  Long  after  this,  when  the  dense  forests  had 
been  penetrated  by  roads  made  from  almost  every 
direction  into  these  valleys  and  into  the  valley  of  the 
Lehigh;  when  the  forests  had  been  in  some  measure 
subdued,  the  mountain  sides  graded  down,  the  natural 
gorges  among  the  mountains  well  known,  and  the  passes 
graded  through  them,  even  after  all  this  had  been  done, 
the  illustrious  Dr.  Nicholas  Murray,  who,  in  1828  or  9, 
came  into  the  valley  of  Wyoming,  which  had  been 
immortalized  by  Campbell's  "Gertrude  of  Wyoming," 
cherished  by  its  citizens  as  the  place  above  all  others,  and 
greatly  admired  by  Dr.  Murray  himself, — w'as  accustomed 
to  say  of  it,  that  it  resembled  the  Catholic  heaven  which 
he  regarded  as  owing  its  charms  to  the  fact  that  purgatory 
had  been  previously  passed  through,  thus  intimating  that, 
to  reach  the  paradise  of  Wyoming  Valley  you  must 
approach  it  through  a  tract  of  country  of  purgatorial 
difficulty  and  hardship.  Some  of  us  who  entered  it  at  a 
much  later  day  have  thought  the  illustration  an  apt  one. 
Now  we  can  only  imagine  the  toils,  trials  and  dangers 
of  the  region  to  be  traversed  by  the  settlers  from  the  east 
an  hundred  years  earlier,  in  order  to  reach  their 
destination  in  the  valley.  They  could  follow  no  streams 
in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania  without  making  a  very 
circuitous  course.  Some  of  the  first  settlers  from 
Connecticut,  we  learn,  crossed  both  the  Hudson  and 
Delaware  rivers,  and  leaving  the  Delaware  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Shohola  creek,   they  moved   westward    till    they 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE,  23 

reached  Roaring  Brook,  which  runs  into  the  Lackawanna 
near  Scranton ;  then  they  followed  down  the  Lackawanna 
to  its  confluence  with  the  Susquehanna  at  the  base  of  the 
lofty  ledge  which  still  bears  the  name  of  "Campbell's 
Ledge,"  from  the  summit  of  which  the  poet  is  supposed 
to  have  looked  down  on  "the  fair  Susquehanna  and  the 
beautiful  Wyoming' '  valley,  when  he  conceived  the  idea 
of  writing  "Gertrude."  The  whole  valley  towards  the 
south  was  before  him.  This  valley  was  the  point  of 
destination  sought  by  the  Connecticut  pioneers ;  but  as 
they  approached  it,  the  Susquehanna  must  be  crossed. 

The  Connecticut  people,  who  had  worked  their  way 
to  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna  and  Lackawanna  across 
rivers  and  through  dense  forests,  marking  out  the  course 
for  roads,  or  actually  constructing  them,  were  brave  men, 
patriotic  and  resolute,  seeking  the  means  by  which  they 
might  honestly  provide  for  their  own  subsistence  and 
build  up  new  communities.  They  dared  to  encounter 
danger  in  the  work  they  had  undertaken. 

To  people,  animated  by  the  principles  inculcated  in 
Winthrop's  colony,  and  possessing  the  courage  and 
perseverance  of  these  pioneers,  there  have  been  prepared, 
through  their  labors,  and  those  of  like  character,  in  the 
early  history  of  our  country,  similar  opportunities  to  find 
homes  and  build  up  new  communities  for  all  who  need 
homes  and  a  wider  sphere  of  enterprise,  with  now  vastly 
increased  facilities  to  reach  such  locations,  in  almost 
every  direction.  These  patient,  uncomplaining.  God- 
fearing people  from  Connecticut  had  been  called  upon  to 
pass  through  severe  trials  in  their  former  homes.  They 
had  wisely  made  efforts  to  conciliate  the  Indians.  In 
these  efforts  that  wonderful  man,   Roger  Williams,   had 


24  PRESBVTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

afforded  valuable  aid.  But  when  the  Pequots  had  proved 
incorrigible,  and  conflict  was  made  necessary,  the  brave 
Connecticut  men,  aided  by  help  from  Massachusetts, 
waged  against  them  a  decisive  war.  They  long  afterwards 
lived  in  peace  with  the  Indians. 

Therefore,  in  view  of  the  past,  and  the  prospects 
immediately  before  them,  those  who  first  settled  on  the 
banks  of  the  Lackawanna  and  Susquehanna  came  thither 
with  the  expectation  of  meeting  trial  and  danger,  not 
ease  and  speedy  accumulation  of  wealth.  Nor  did  they 
deliberately  plan  to  live  a  free  and  easy  life  outside 
of  properly  organized  society,  and  without  the  aids  and 
restraints  of  "the  means  of  grace."   - 

In  addition  to  other  and  expected  difificulties, 
incident  to  new  settlements  among  untaught  savages  in 
Luzerne  county,  there  was,  from  the  beginning,  that 
conflict  among  the  settlers  themselves  about  the  proprie- 
tary right  to  the  land,  already  spoken  of.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
John  Dorrance,  a  decendant  of  the  Connecticut  colony, 
and  of  whom  it  will  be  our  privilege  to  speak  at  length  as 
we  proceed,  says  of  these  settlers  on  the  Susquehanna,  in 
a  sermon  preached  on  the  8oth  anniversary  of  the  settle- 
ment of  the  first  pastor  in  Wyoming  Valley  and  the  20th 
anniversary  of  his  own  pastorate  over  the  same  church, — 
after  reciting  the  facts  commemorated  by  the  services  in 
progress*: — "Some  general  remarks  on  the  early  religious 
history  of  this  part  of  the  country  will  be  appropriate. 
That  part  of  Pennsylvania  lying  north  of  the  41st  degree 
of  latitude  was  claimed  by  the  then  province  (now  State) 
of  Connecticut.  As  a  natural  consequence,  a  portion 
of  this  territory  and  especially  that  which  is  watered  by 

*Preached  in  1853. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  25 

the  Susquehanna  and  its  tributaries  was  originally  settled 
by  emigrants  from  Connecticut,  and  other  New  England 
provinces,  with  the  exception  of  one  township,  viz., 
Hanover.  This  was  occupied,  in  great  part,  by  emigrants 
from  Hanover,  Paxton,  Derry  and  Lancaster,  in  Dauphin 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Those  from  New  England  were 
generally  Congregationalists  in  education  and  feelings. 
Those  from  Dauphin  county  were  of  Presbyterian  stock, 
originally  from  the  north  of  Ireland.  Some  of  them  had 
been  engaged  in  the  slaughter  of  a  number  of  Indians, 
regarded  by  some  as  friendly,  but  alleged  by  them  to  be 
treacherous  and  murderous.  Whatever  may  have  been 
thought  of  this  transaction,  about  which  there  are  widely 
different  views,  these  inhabitants  were  as  decided  in  their 
religious  sentiments  as  in  their  political, — rigid  Presby- 
terians, and  ardent  whigs  of  the  Revolution." 

"From  these  two  sources  was  derived  the  original 
population  of  this  northern  Pennsylvania.  Better  sources 
there  are  not.  The  ancestors  of  both  the  Puritan  and 
the  Scotch  Presbyterian  had  been  tried  in  the  furnace 
of  affliction,  had  suffered  persecution  in  the  old  world 
and  endured  hardness  in  the  new.  Their  principles, 
confirmed  by  a  long  and  painful  experience  of  oppression, 
privation,  exile  and  war,  were  inherited  by  their  children, 
our  fathers.  Those  who  migrated  to  this  then  terra 
incognita  through  the  howling  wilderness,  and  battled 
with  cold  and  hunger  and  poverty,  with  the  hostile  white 
man  and  the  lurking  Indian,  few  in  numbers,  without 
resources  and  far  from  aid,  and  who  manfully  struggled 
for  years  against  the  great  commonwealth  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, against  the  combined  forces  of  Briton,  Tory  and 
savage;  whose  wives  and  children,  and  aged  ones,  when 


26  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

forced  from  their  lands,  after  witnessing  the  terrible 
massacre  by  one  crushing  blow  of  father  and  son  and 
every  able-bodied  man,  returned  again  through  the 
trackless  forest,  unrivalled  in  their  courage  and  fortitude, 
and  established  for  us  a  happy  home,  were  no  common 
men." 

Their  labor,  their  valor,  their  constancy,  are  above 
all  praise.  Their  moral  virtues,  honesty,  sobriety,  love 
of  order,  humanity  and  benevolence  are  abundantly  set 
forth  in  the  laws  framed  and  executed  by  themselves. 
The  survivors  of  the  massacre  bore  ample  testimony  to 
the  character  of  the  original  inhabitants.  Mr.  Burret, 
himself  a  pious  and  trustworthy  man,  the  grandfather 
of  Mrs.  H.  Alexander,  said  they  were  excellent  people, 
whose  equals  will  not  soon,  if  ever,  be  found  here  again. 
The  testimony  of  the  late  Judge  Hollenback  was  equally 
explicit.  Such,  indeed,  we  might  reasonably  expect. 
They  were  born  and  raised  in  the  land  of  steady  habits, 
were  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  honest  yeomanry 
of  Connecticut,  not  therefore  of  towns;  not  gold-hunters 
or  greedy  speculators,  or  reckless  adventurers,  but  the 
young,  enterprising  part  of  a  rural  population,  whose 
parents  were  ministers,  deacons,  and  members  of  evan- 
gelical churches.  They  came  to  fell  the  forest,  cultivate 
the  land  and  establish  society  on  the  banks  of  the 
Susquehanna,  where,  under  a  more  genial  sun,  and  on  a 
more  fertile  soil  they  might  enjoy  all  the  privileges  of  their 
ancestors  and  transmit  to  their  posterity  a  home  possessing 
all  the  characteristic  excellencies  of  New  England. 

Of  Captain  Stewart,  the  leader  of  the  Scotch-Irish 
company  who  settled  in  Hanover,  his  pastor,  the  Rev. 
John   Elder   (who   from  the  singular  necessities  of  the 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  2/ 

times  was  also  colonel  commanding  in  defence  of  the 
frontier)  writes  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania:  "In 
the  removal  of  Captain  Stewart  your  excellency  has  lost  a 
true  patriot,  an  able  officer^  and  a  brave  soldier.  A  good 
Christian,  Captain  Stewart  was'  a  ruling  elder  in  the 
church,  and  his  companions,  or  many  of  them,  com- 
municants." 

The  white  settlers  who  took  possession  of  the  land 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  territory  occupied  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  were  led  thither,  for  the  most 
part,  by  the  coal  trade ;  few  settlements  had  been  made 
in  the  southern  part  of  Luzerne,  Carbon,  and  the  greater 
part  of  Schuylkill  counties,  until  the  production  of  coal 
began  to  attract  the  attention  of  enterprising  men.  None 
of  our  churches  antedate  the  coal  trade  on  the  Lehigh 
and  upper  Schuylkill. 

German  settlements  had  been  made  in  the  county 
south  of  Carbon  as  early  as  1741,  at  Bethlehem  and 
Northampton  1762.  Both  of  these  places  were  in 
Northampton  county  ;  Lehigh  was  constituted  a  county 
in  181 2,  and  the  name  of  Northampton  gave  place  to 
that  of  Allentown  in  1838.  From  Bethlehem,  which  has 
been  one  of  the  most  prominent  Moravian  settlements  in 
this  country,  missionary  efforts  had  been  extended  to  the 
Indians  living  north  of  the  Lehigh  and  on  the  Susque- 
hanna, before  white  settlers  had  found  their  way  there. 
These  efforts  had  been  fruitful  of  good,  both  at  Gnauden- 
hutten  and  Wyalusing;  but  both  missions  were  soon 
broken  up  by  Indian  wars.  The  converts  were  scattered 
or  slain,  and  the  villages  destroyed.  The  tradition 
obtains  in  Plymouth,  in  Wyoming  valley,  that  Zinzendorf 
(Nicholas    Louis)    preached    in    that    locality.       It    is 


28 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE, 


generally  believed  that  David  Brainard,  the  devoted  and 
successful  missionary  to  the  Indians,  who  during  the  years 
of  1744-5  made  his  headquarters  at  the  forks  of  the 
Delaware,  visited  the  Wyoming  valley.  His  diary  speaks 
of  three  visits  to  the  Indians  on  the  Susquehanna,  but 
some  of  these  entries  mention  Shamokin  as  a  point 
visited,  which  is  far  south  of  Wyoming;  on  the  other 
hand  Mr.  Jkainard  was  especially  a  missionary  to  the 
Delawares  who,  at  that  time,  although  not  the  original 
owners  of  the  lands,  occupied  the  Wyoming  and  adjacent 
valleys.  The  writer  finds  nothing  to  make  it  absolutely 
certain  that  Brainard's  visits  were  to  the  upper  Susque- 
hanna. There  is  the  same  uncertainty  as  to  the  locality 
visited  by  the  Rev.  John  Seargent.  His  journal  may 
refer  to  the  Susquehanna  and  Delaware  north  of  Pennsyl- 
vania.^ It  has  been  claimed  that  this  Mr.  Seargent  was 
the  first  missionary  that  visited  the  nothern  part  of  the 
territory  ^occupied  by  the  Presbytery,  which  may,  indeed 
be  true,  but  the  diary  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Seargent,  who  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  minister  and  a  Presbyterian, 
who  preached  the  gospel  in  Wyoming  valley,  does  not 
afford  proof  of  the  fact.*  The  services  are  described  in 
this  diary  as  having  been  conducted  in  Wyoming  valley 
and  at  Susquehanna  on  successive  Sabbaths,  which  would 
have  been  much  easier  to  do  in  York  State  than  in 
Pennsylvania. 

^*Dr.  Parke's  History  of  Pittstou  Church. 


V. 

SUSQUEHANNA  PRESBYTERY. 

THE  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna,  which  up  to  the  date 
of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery's  organization,  occupied 
a  considerable  part  of  the  territory  of  the  new  body, 
cannot  be  overlooked  when  we  attempt  to  gather  up  the 
facts  and  influences  which  gave  character  and  complexion 
to  its  lineal  successor  and  to  a  large  part  of  its  functions. 
It  is  not  enough  to  understand  the  general  character 
of  the  individuals  who  entered  the  new  organization; 
their  previous  associated  relationship  must  also  be  taken 
into  the  account. 

In  what  has  been  written  above  concerning  the 
people  who  settled  in  northern  Pennsylvania  from  the 
original  Connecticut  colony,  and  adjacent  parts  of  New 
England, — especially  what  we  have  quoted  from  the  Rev. 
Dr.  John  Dorrance's  sermon,  delivered  in  1853, — we 
learn  the  general  character  of  these  early  pioneers,  and 
in  the  satisfactory  history  of  the  Presbytery  of  Susque- 
hanna, written  more  recently  by  a  member  of  that 
ecclesiastical  body,  we  learn  something  of  their  associated 
work,  in  giving  the  gospel  to  the  new  settlements  which 
they  made  on  the  Susquehanna  and  contiguous  valleys. 

The  Rev.  C.  C.  Corss,*  author  of  this  history,  was 
born  in  Greenfield,  Mass.,  1803,  graduating  from 
Amherst  college,  1830.     He  spent  some  time  in  teaching, 

*Since  this  portion  of  the  history  was  written  he  passed  into  his  rest, 
May  20th,  1896. 


30  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

after  which  he  was  graduated  from  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary,  was  ordained  as  an  evangelist  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Susquehanna,  August  27,  1836,  and  for  more  than  two 
years  was  stated  supply  of  the  Kingston  church,  which  is 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna  opposite  Wilkes- 
Barre ;  and  he  was  connected  with  the  same  Presbytery 
until  it  was  dissolved  at  the  reunion,  when  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lackawanna,  doing  excellent 
work  for  a  part  of  the  time,  however,  in  ministering  to  a 
Congregational  church.  This  brother  has  enjoyed  the 
esteem  of  his  brethren,  as  a  man  of  intelligence  of  high 
order,  devotion,  and  sterling  integrity.  Therefore,  in 
writing  the  history  of  his  Presbytery,  much  of  which  he 
was,  and  nearly  all  of  which  he  saw,  he  gives  perfectly 
reliable  information.  In  a  communication  recently 
received  from  him  by  the  writer,  his  mind  seemed  to  be 
clear  although  he  is  now  in  his  93rd  year;  but  he  said 
that  mental  effort  was  burdensome  to  him. 

Until  very  recently  there  were  a  trio  of  the  early 
members  of  the  Susquehanna  Presbytery,  aged  respectively 
— Ebenezer  H.  Snowden  95,  Alexander  Heberton  92, 
and  C.  C.  Corss  92.  All  of  them  had  been  at  least 
acting  pastors  of  the  Kingston  Presbyterian  church,  and 
were  alumni  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 

From  Mr.  Corss'  History  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Susquehanna,  the  following  facts  are  gleaned:   viz.. 

The  churches  organized  north  of  Wilkes-Barre  were 
mostly  congregational  in  their  proposed  government; 
there  were,  however,  exceptions  to  this  general  usage; 
a  nominal  exception  among  them  being  the  church  of 
Wyalusing,  organized  by  the  Rev.  Ira  Condit,  a  mission- 
ary sent  out  by  the  General  Assembly.       This  church, 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  3 1 

organized  1793,  is  believed  to  be  the  first  Presbyterian 
church  in  northern  Pennsylvania.  In  1809  Wyalusing 
became  Congregational,  remaining  so  till  1831,  when  it 
again  became  Presbyterian. 

Perhaps  the  most  steadfast  Congregational  church 
was  organized  by  that  celebrated  colored  minister,  the 
Rev,  Lemuel  Haynes  in  Poultney,  Vermont,  Feb.,  1801, 
consisting  of  three  families,  about  to  migrate  to  what  has 
since  been  known  as  Smithfield,  Bradford  Co.,  Pa.  The 
first  sermon  preached  to  this  church  was  by  the  Rev. 
James  Wood,  of  the  Connecticut  Congregational 
Missionary  Society,  in  1802,  when,  amidst  the  most 
primitive  surroundings,  he  administered  to  the  trans- 
planted church  the  Lord's  Supper,  spreading  for  it  a  table 
in  the  wilderness. 

In  1802  the  Susquehanna  Association  was  formed, 
consisting  of  five  ministers.  This  new  association  issued 
a  circular  to  its  churches  "On  the  importance  of  Christian 
professors  being  awake  to  religion."  The  evidence  is 
wanting  that  this  letter  effectually  aroused  the  adherents 
of  the  association,  for,  so  far  as  documentary  evidence  of 
the  condition  of  things  appears,  there  was  no  improve- 
ment. This  was  the  last  general  effort  of  the  association, 
as  such,  to  make  its  influence  felt.  But  Mr.  Corss  tells 
us  that  on  Nov.  2nd,  1810,  the  Luzerne  Association  was 
formed  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Kingsbury,  in 
Hartford,  Susquehanna  county.  Pa.  "  It  was,"  he  says, 
called  Luzerne  Association  because  all  northern  Pennsyl- 
vania was  then  called  Luzerne.  At  the  first  meeting 
there  were  present  Ebenezer  Kingsbury,  from  the  church 
at  Hartford ;  Ard  Hoyt,  from  the  church  at  Wilkes-Barre 


32  PRESBYTEKY    OF    LUZERNE. 

and  Kingston;*  Manasseh  Miner  York,  from  the  church 
at  Wysox,  and  Joel  Chapin,  whose  field  is  not  designated. 
Seven  churches  were  rei)resented  by  delegates,  viz., 
Daniel  Hoyt,  from  the  church  at  Wilkes-Barre  and 
Kingston;  Aden  Stevens  of  Wyalusing;  William  Johnson 
of  Orwell;  Moses  Thatcher  of  Hartford;  Joshua  W. 
Raynsford,  of  the  ist  church  of  Bridgewater,  (Montrose); 
Henry  V.  Champion,  of  Black  Walnut  Bottom;  and 
Joshua  Mills,  of  the  2nd  church  of  Bridgewater,  This 
association  framed  a  Confession  of  Faith  which,  so  far  as 
it  goes,  is  fully  in  accord  with  the  Westminster  standards. 

The  records  of  the  Luzerne  association  up  to  181 7 
show  an  increase  in  its  membership  of  ministers  and 
churches  from  time  to  time,  and  fidelity  and  zeal  on  the 
part  of  pastors.  The  people  too,  in  view  of  their  limited 
means  and  arduous  toils,  seem  to  have  appreciated  gospel 
privileges;  and  sometimes  the  hearts  of  both  pastor  and 
people  were  made  glad  by  reason  of  refreshment  and 
ingathering;  but  frequently  pastors  had  to  abandon  their 
fields  on  account  of  inadequate  support.  Stately  churches 
were  not  erected,  and  in  many  cases,  none  at  all.  The 
people  worshipped  in  private  houses,  in  barns,  and 
wherever  they  could  find  shelter.  There  is  a  tradition 
that  a  young  family  named  Fawcett,  whose  first  child  was 
the  first  white  child  born  in  Hector,  N.  Y.,  rode  with  it 
on  horseback  down  the  Susquehanna  river  175  miles,  to 
secure  for  it  the  ordinance  of  baptism. 

From  the  frequent  changes  in  the  names  which 
the  brethren  in  northern  Pennsylvania  assumed  in  their 
associated  capacity,  we  infer  the  e.xistence  of  a  spirit  of 

*No  ministers  from  Wyoming  VaUey  appear  to  Iiave  been  connected  with 
the  Susquehanna  Association. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  33 

unrest.  These  brethren  were  earnest  and  conscientious 
men.  They  aimed  to  be  consistent  with  the  sentiments 
and  usages  to  which  they  subscribed,  therefore  they  found 
themselves,  at  times,  embarrassed  and  restrained  in 
following  the  courses  which  seemed  to  be  demanded  by 
the  wants  of  their  field.  Independency  in  church 
government,  and  especially  in  the  aggressive  work  of  the 
church,  runs  contrary  to  Christian  consciousness  and 
experience.  Wherefore  wherever  the  advancing  army 
of  the  Lord  makes  conquests  over  the  powers  of  darkness, 
there  the  theory  of  Independence  has  yielded  to  the 
demand  for  co-operation  and  for  mutual  control  and 
responsibility,  at  least  so  far  as  to  recognize  voluntary 
association,  which  becomes  efficient  according  to  the 
approximation  which  it  makes  toward  the  recognition 
of  fixed  law,  providentially  or  scripturally  indicated. 
Congregational  associations,  local,  state,  or  national, 
move  so  far  in  the  right  direction,  and  testify  against  the 
theory  of  Independency.  The  noble  work  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Foreign  Missions 
testifies  to  the  advantage  of  such  law,  as  against 
Independency. 

In  the  year  1817,  our  brethren  of  the  Luzerne 
association  seem  so  far  to  have  recognized  the  law  which 
calls  for  combined  operation  of  the  whole  body  of 
associated  believers,  and  the  subordination  of  the  parts  to 
the  whole,  that  they  took  the  following  action,  of  Avhich 
they  had  for  two  years  been  considering  the  expediency: 
"At  a  meeting  of  the  Association  at  Colesville,  a  village 
in  Windsor  township,  N.  Y.,  September  16,  1817,  they 
resolved  to  change  the  name  of  the  Luzerne  Association 
to  that  of  the    Susquehanna  Presbytery."       It  appears, 


34  PRESBYTKKV    OF    LUZERNE. 

however,  that  so  far  as  tlie  local  churches  were  concerned, 
this  action  was  followed  by  no  change  in  their  manage- 
ment; even  such  as  had  been  organized  as  Presbyterian, 
but  had  coalesced  with  the  Congregational  usages, 
continued  in  the  same  manner  of  administration.  Mr. 
Corss  says,  "We  find  no  Presbyterian  church  in  the  body 
till  March  3rd,  1821,  when  the  Rev.  Manasseh  Miner 
York,  and  the  Rev.  Simeon  R.  Jones  organized  one  with 
the  Presbyterian  form  in  full,  in  the  township  of  Wells, 
Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania."  The  Presbytery  of 
Susquehanna  met  in  Wells  on  June  19th,  of  the  same 
year,  and  the  body  seems  to  have  been  greatly  cheered 
by  reports  of  revivals  in  quite  a  number  of  its  churches. 
The  Lord  seems  to  have  blessed  the  labors  of  his  servants, 
although  their  places  of  worship  were  of  the  rudest  kind, 
and  far  from  convenient,  yet  the  people  heard  the  word 
of  the  Lord  gladly. 

Mr.  Corss  says  furtlier,  "The  Association  had  borne 
the  name  without  the  form  of  a  Presbytery  for  four  years. 
By  this  time  the  people  had  become  accustomed  to  the 
name  of  Presbyterian,  and  would  be  less  disinclined  to 
take  the  form.  Accordingly,  at  a  meeting  in  Hartford, 
September  i8th,  182 1,  a  resolution  was  passed  to  seek 
admission  into  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey." 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  minutes  of  that 
meeting: — 

"The  Susquehanna  Presbytery,  consisting  of  six 
ministers  able  to  labor  and  two  unable,  and  having  under 
its  care  twenty-four  feeble  churches,  and  covering  nearly 
one  hundred  square  miles, ^  and  embracing  about  forty 
thousand  inhabitants,  lamenting  the  needy  state  of  these 

*The  meaning  must  be,  one  hundred  miles  in  every  direction. 


PRESBYTERY   OF    LUZERNE.  35 

precious  souls,  and  conscious  of  their  own  weakness  and 
inability  to  afford  the  requisite  relief,  one  year  since  took 
under  its  serious  consideration  the  subject  of  seeking  a 
connection  with  the  churches  under  the  care  of  the 
General  Assembly.  After  much  inquiry  and  prayerful 
reflection,  not  being  able  to  devise  any  plan  of  equal 
promise  to  increase  the  means  of  sound  Christian  instruc- 
tion in  their  needy  and  extensive  region,  and  to  advance 
the  interests  of  their  Redeemer's  kingdom: 

''I.  Resolved,  That  we  will  seek  a  connection 
with  the  churches  under  the  care  of  the  General 
Assembly. 

"2.  Resolved,  That  this  body  will  adopt  the 
Confession  of  Faith  and  Book  of  Discipline  of  the 
General  Assembly. 

"3.  Resolved,  That  we  will  seek  a  connection 
with  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  and 
endeavor  to  have  the  minutes  of  the  Presbytery  so  formed 
that  they  may  be  accepted  by  the  Synod,  provided  the 
individual  churches  be  allowed  to  manage  their  own 
concerns  in  their  usual,  or  Congregational,  manner. 

"4.  Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  Cyrus  Gildersleeve, 
Rev.  Simeon  R.  Jones,  Rev.  Lyman  Richardson,  and 
brother  Henry  V.  Champion,  be  a  committee  to  carry 
forward  an  attested  copy  of  the  minutes  of  this  Presbytery 
to  the  Synod,  at  its  ensuing  session  in  Newark  on  the  first 
Tuesday  of  October,  and  use  their  endeavors  to  obtain 
the  connection  desired." 

The  desired  action  of  the  Synod  was  secured,  "the 
plan  of  union"  then  being  in  operation,  and  while  the 
Presbytery  or  body  received  by  the  Synod  was  not  so 
thoroughly  revolutionized  as  might  have  been  expected, 


36  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

the  movement  was  significant,  and  ultimately  determined 
the  ecclesiastical  status,  not  only  of  the  Presbytery  we  are 
considering  especially  in  this  narrative,  but  of  a  multitude 
of  churches  in  northern  Pennsylvania,  and  finally  secured 
for  the  destitute  territory,  over  which  the  petitioners 
yearned  so  intensely,  what  they  prayed  for,  and  for  the 
Presbyterian  church  important  and  efficient  factors  in  her 
divinely  appointed  work. 

Among  the  twenty-four  churches  of  the  Susquehanna 
Presbytery  Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston  are  included;  they 
occupied  the  southern  limits  of  the  Presbytery,  the 
northern  part  being  the  New  York  state  line.  The 
churches  of  Salem  and  Palmyra,  in  Wayne  county  on  the 
east,  and  Wells  and  Bradford  county  on  the  west. 

The  few  faithful  and  devoted  men  in  charge  of  this 
extensive  field,  cultivated  it,  as  well  as  it  was  possible 
with  their  numbers  and  appliances  for  work.  From  time 
to  time  additional  help  was  secured.  Some  ministers 
were  raised  up  in  their  own  bounds.  In  their  urgent 
need  of  more  ministers  they  were  not  careless  about  the 
men  they  accepted,  but  seem  to  have  subjected  every 
new  comer  to  a  rigid  examination  as  to  his  qualifications 
for  the  gospel  ministry.  Nor  was  discipline  in  the  local 
churches  relaxed,  but  faithfully  administered.  The  purity 
of  the  church  was  regarded  as  an  absolute  necessity. 

The  evidence  of  the  vitality  and  aggressiveness  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna  appears  in  the  fact  that, 
while  obliged  to  give  up  some  of  its  ministers  to  other 
Presbyteries  because  its  own  churches  could  not  sustain 
them,  we  find  it  organizing  new  churches,  receiving  from 
time  to  time  more  ministers,  and  licensing  young  men, 
among  them   Joseph   Huntington   Jones,   a  graduate  of 


PRESBYTERY   OF    LUZERNE.  37 

Harvard  University,  in  1822.  The  same  year  Mr.  Jones 
entered  Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  He  was 
ordained  April  29th,  1824.  After  performing  some 
missionary  work  in  the  region  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Mr.  Jones 
became  stated  supply  of  the  Woodbury  church,  N.  J. 
Subsequently  his  career  as  a  prominent  and  honored 
minister  of  the  Presbyterian  church  is  well  known.  He 
died  Dec.  22nd,  while  secretary  of  the  Assembly's 
''Disabled  Ministers'  Fund." 

At  the  same  time  the  Presbytery  licensed  Mr.  Jones, 
two  others  were  also  licensed,  viz.,  Ambrose  Eggleston 
and  Erastus  Cole.  The  latter  was  ordained  and  dismissed 
to  the  Presbytery  of  Columbia,  N.  Y.,  September 
24th,    1824. 

We  find  the  Susquehanna  Presbytery,  in  April,  1826, 
licensing  two  young  men  from  two  of  the  most  important 
families  in  Wyoming  valley,  both  connected  with  the 
Wilkes-Barre  church  and  prepared  for  college  at  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  subsequently  graduates  of  Prince- 
ton College  and  Theological  Seminary.  This  event  was 
significant,  when  it  occurred,  as  it  then  indicated  the 
conditions  that  had  preceded  it  in  the  church,  in  the 
families,  and  in  the  community  to  which  these  young 
men  belonged ;  and  significant  to  us  now,  who  look  back 
over  the  career  of  these  young  men  who  were  then 
receiving  the  sanction  of  this  Presbytery,  to  go  forth  to 
make  trial  of  their  ability  to  preach  "the  glorious  gospel 
of  the  blessed  God."  They  were,  respectively,  Zebulon 
Butler  and  John  Dorrance.  They  began  their  work  in 
the  same  general  region  in  the  far  south  and  were  fully 
inducted  into  the  ministry  in  Mississippi,  where  God 
blessed  their  labors  from  the  beginning.       Mr.  Dorrance 


38  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

was  ordained  November,  1827,  at  Baton  Rouge.  Mr. 
Butler  was  ordained  April  5th,  1828,  pastor  at  Port 
Gibson,  where  he  remained  till  his  death,  which  took 
place  Dec.  23rd,  i860.  In  1849  Lafayette  college  had 
conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  D.  D.  The  Rev.  John 
Dorrance  returned  north  to  the  Presbytery  which  had 
licensed  him  in  1831,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Wysox 
church.  In  1833  he  became  pastor  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
church  which  he  served  till  called  higher,  April  i8th, 
1861.  In  1859  the  College  of  New  Jersey  honored  him 
with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  Of  him  we  will 
have  more  to  say,  as  one  of  the  founders  and  honored 
members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne. 

The  reports  from  the  churches  of  the  Susquehanna 
Presbytery,  presented  April,  1832,  were  generally  of  an 
encouraging  character ;  times  of  refreshing  had  been 
enjoyed  by  many  of  them,  and  the  tendency  indicated  in 
the  Presbytery  seems  to  have  been  in  the  direction  of 
stricter  Presbyterianism.  The  questions  which  were  then 
agitating  the  Presbyterian  church  at  large  attracted 
attention,  and  party  lines  began  to  appear.  The  brethren 
of  Susquehanna  Presbytery  generally,  sympathized  with 
the  party  denominated  "Old  School";  but  there  were 
exceptions,  especially  in  the  more  eastern  counties  of  the 
Presbytery,  and  when  a  division  of  the  territory  was 
asked  for,  the  Presbytery  of  Montrose  was  formally 
constituted  by  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  Oct.,  1832,* 
consisting  of  the  counties  of  Pike,  Susquehanna  and 
Wayne,  leaving  in  the  original  Presbytery  Bradford  and 
Luzerne    (Wyoming   was    not   then    constituted).      This 

♦The  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  had  been  divided  by  the 
General  Assembly  in  1828  and  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  was  formally 
constituted  in  Oct.,  1828. 


PRKSBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  39 

division  made  both  Presbyteries  more  homogeneous,  if  it 
did  not  subsequently  promote  fraternal  co-operation  with 
each  other  as  Presbyteries. 

The  action  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1837  resulted 
in  making  the  division  line  between  the  Presbyteries 
of  Susquehanna  and  Montrose  more  distinct,  and  in 
enlisting  champions  on  both  sides  of  it  to  defend  all  that 
it  implied  to  them  respectively.  Prominent  among  these 
were  Judge  Jessup  of  Montrose  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Dorrance  of  Susquehanna. 

The  next  division  of  the  territory  of  the  Susquehanna 
which  was  made  necessary  by  the  development  of  the 
coal  trade  in  Luzerne  county,  especially  its  southern  part, 
and  in  Carbon  and  Schuylkill  counties,  we  have  already 
noted  in  the  organization  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne. 
We  have  introduced  here  the  above  statements  with 
regard  to  the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna,  and  its  an- 
tecedents in  order  to  a  better  understanding  of  the 
Providential  manner  in  which  the  way  was  prepared  for 
the  work  of  the  Presbytery  we  are  endeavoring  to  portray. 
We  have  not,  of  course,  been  able  to  do  ample  justice  to 
the  devoted  and  useful  men  and  struggling  churches  to 
which  we  have  referred,  and  to  some  of  them  we  will 
have  occasion  to  turn  our  attention  again  as  we  proceed. 
The  writer  is  indebted  for  most  of  the  facts  given  above 
to  the  excellent  History  of  Susquehanna  Presbytery  by 
the  venerable  Mr.  Corss,  whose  work  is  well  worth 
perusal;  for  while  it  is  not  a  complete  history  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Susquehanna,  it  is  a  good  outline  and  is 
very  suggestive. 


VI. 

MAUCH  CHUNK  AND  THE  REV.   RICHARD 
WEBSTER. 

WHILE  it  might  be  a  more  natural  method  to  take  up 
the  different  individual  churches  of  which  the 
Presbytery  was  composed  in  the  order  of  their  church  life 
and  importance,  there  seems  to  be  a  propriety  in  beginning 
with  the  pastor  to  whom  his  brethren  have  accorded  the 
appelation,  "the  father  of  the  Presbytery."  The  Rev. 
A.  B.  Cross  says  in  the  funeral  sermon  which  he  preached 
at  the  burial  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Webster:  "At  his 
instance,  the  General  Assembly  was  memorialized,  and 
in  1843  constituted  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  and 
appointed  him  to  preach  the  opening  sermon  at  its 
formal  organization."  Soon  after  the  departure  of  Mr. 
Webster  to  his  heavenly  rest, —  he  being  the  first  of  its 
members  to  cease  from  his  earthly  labors, — the  Presbytery 
was  called  together  in  Scranton  "to  take  into  consider- 
ation matters  connected  with  the  death  of  Rev.  Richard 
Webster,  stated  clerk  of  the  Presbytery  and  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  Domestic  Missions."  Presbytery 
recorded  "its  grief  at  the  loss  of  our  greatly  beloved 
brother,  valued  co-presbyter  and  stated  clerk,  an  able 
and  judicious  counselor,  a  warm  hearted  and  zealous 
fellow-laborer,  and  the  founder  of  this  Presbytery." 

In  view  of  these  considerations,  and  the  additional 
fact  that,  in  no  merely  nominal  measure,  the  care  of  all 


•    PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  4 1 

the  churches  rested  heavily  upon  Mr.  Webster,  we, 
therefore,  following  the  example  of  the  Assembly  of 
1843,  place  his  name  at  the  head  of  our  list  of  those  who 
were  associated  in  the  new  Presbytery  in  loving  fel- 
lowship. 

The  two  more  prominent  centres  of  growth,  in  the 
earlier  days  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  were  Wilkes - 
Barre  on  the  north  and  Mauch  Chunk  on  the  south  of  the 
Presbytery.  The  vitality  of  the  latter  centre  we  trace  to 
the  man  in  the  pulpit,  and  not  originally  to  the  large  and 
influential  congregation  to  which  he  preached.  Not  his 
circumstances,  but  his  devotion,  his  spirituality  and  his 
love  for  lost  souls,  constrained  by  the  love  of  Christ, 
fired  his  vigorous  intellect  and  called  forth  his  self-denying 
labors.  This  it  was  which  made  Richard  Webster  a 
power  for  good  among  all  classes  of  men. 

The  man  of  whom  we  write  had  antecedents 
preparing  him  for  his  life  work.  We  may  not  reap 
without  sowing.  He  had  received  a  Christian  education, 
culture  and  care,  in  the  admonition  of  the  Lord.  He 
was  the  youngest  child  of  Charles  R.  and  Cynthia  (Steele) 
Webster,  born  July,  181 1,  in  Albany,  N.  Y.  His  father 
being  a  prominent  bookseller  and  publisher  of  an  in- 
fluential paper,  his  love  for,  and  extensive  acquaintance 
with  literature  was  early  acquired  and  was  doubtless 
carefully  directed  by  his  godly  parents,  especially  by  his 
amiable  mother,  whose  culture  was  received  in  the  refined 
and  pious  household  of  her  own  favored  parentage.  His 
academic  education  was  completed  at  Union  College, 
N,  Y.,  1829,  where  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  such 
men  as  the  Rev.  F.  D.  W.  Ward,  D.  D.,  who  ever 
cherished  a  warm  friendship  for  Mr.  Webster  and   who 


42  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

has  borne  strong  testimony  to  his  excellence  of  heart  and 
life  since  his  departure  to  his  home  above. 

Mr.  Webster's  theological  education  was  acquired  at 
Princeton.  To  his  diligence  and  proficiency  there  his 
seminary  friends,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  J.  Wallace  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  C.  Van  Rensselaer  bear  strong  testimony;  the 
former  speaks  of  his  peculiar  mental  characteristics  and 
poetic  nature.  To  the  sketch  of  Mr.  Webster's  life, 
given  so  fully  and  lovingly  by  Dr.  Van  Rensselaer  in  the 
introduction  to  Mr.  Webster's  History  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  this  country,  which  he  edited  after  Mr. 
Webster's  death,  the  present  writer  wishes  to  turn  the 
attention  of  all,  especially  that  of  our  younger  ministers 
and  candidates  for  the  ministry,  as  said  introduction 
cannot  be  reproduced  here,  and  no  abridgement  can  do 
it  justice,  or  convey  the  salutary  impression  which  a 
perusal  of  the  whole  sketch  must  leave  on  the  mind  of 
every  interested  and  careful  reader.  Mr.  Webster 
completed  the  full  course  at  the  Seminary  in  the  spring 
of  1834,  after  which  he  offered  himself  to  the  American 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  was  accepted  as  a 
Missionary  to  India.  But  hindrances  arose  to  his 
entrance  upon  that  desired  work,  which,  interpreted  in 
the  light  of  subsequent  events,  are  now  plainly  seen  to 
have  been  a  part  of  the  Master's  leadings,  wiser  than  his 
own  plans  or  the  policy  of  the  American  Board.  God 
had  other  work  for  Richard  Webster,  in  our  own  land. 

Through  the  influence  of  the  late  Judge  Porter,  of 
Easton.  Pa.,  Mr.  Webster,  after  graduating  at  the 
Seminary,  was  induced  to  undertake  missionary  work  in 
south  Easton,  where  David  Brainard,  whose  spirit  he 
imbibed,  had  labored  so  successfully  among  the  Indians 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  43 

nearly  a  century  before ;  but  the  Master  designed  him  for 
another  field,  and  soon  led  him  fifty  miles  up  the  Lehigh 
to  a  little  dell  where  the  Mauch  Chunk  creek  runs  swiftly 
down  into  the  Lehigh,  making  its  way  through  the  gorge 
of  the  Mahoning  mountains.  In  this  narrow  defile, 
traversed  by  the  above  named  tributary  on  its  rapid 
course  to  the  larger  stream,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
overshadowing  mountains,  to  the  little  hidden  village  on 
the  Mauch  Chunk  creek  that  was  there  struggling  into 
existence,  Providence  was  directing  the  steps  of  Richard 
Webster;  not  to  extinguish  his  light,  or  repress  his 
energies;  not  to  make  his  life  a  blank  or  shut  him  out 
from  any  worthy  place  in  the  church  he  so  ardently 
loved.  Far  from  it,  as  the  event  proved;  for  God  had 
given  him  that  which  would  enable  him  to  overleap  the 
mountains  and  call  forth  the  admiration  of  all  who  realize 
"How  beautiful  on  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  them 
that  preach  the  gospel  of  peace  and  bring  glad  tidings 
of  good  things  ! ' ' 

Without  seeking  or  even  desiring  fame,  but  con- 
strained by  the  love  of  Christ  to  labor  for  the  good 
of  others  and  the  glory  of  the  Master,  he  built  his 
monument  so  high,  and  made  it  so  bright,  that  it  has 
become  alike  conspicuous  in  the  secluded  valleys  and 
over  the  mountains  which  shut  them  in  by  their  towering 
height. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  coal  trade  on  the 
Lehigh  dates  from  about  1820,  but  its  development  was 
not  rapid,  for  Miss  Webster,  in  her  History  of  the  Mauch 
Chunk  Presbyterian  church,  quoting  from  Dr.  Edsal 
Ferrier,  gives  the  population  of  that  village  in  1830  as 
nearly  700.       Up  to  this  time  the  population  of  this  part 


44  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

of  the  Lehigh  was  largely  confined  to  those  who  were 
engaged  in  the  production  of  coal,  which  was  principally 
in  the  hands  of  enterprising  Philadelphians. 

The  valleys  on  this  part  of  the  river  were  very 
narrow,  and  the  uplands  not  regarded  as  productive, 
therefore  not  inviting  to  farmers.  The  settlements  south 
of  Mauch  Chunk  were  principally  German,  so  not  of 
Presbyterian  proclivity.  This  may  account  for  the  fact 
that  considerable  time  elapsed  after  coal  operations  began 
before  our  church  entered  this  field.  The  attention  of 
Presbyterians  in  Easton  and  its  vicinity  was  not  at  once 
attracted  to  Mauch  Chunk,  notwithstanding  the  two 
places  were  connected  by  canal.  The  attention  of  the 
church  at  Easton  was  finally  called  to  Mauch  Chunk  by  a 
letter  addressed  to  its  pastor  by  a  citizen  of  the  latter 
place,  asking  for  counsel  with  reference  to  his  personal 
salvation.  The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Gray,  pastor  at  Easton, 
responded,  and  in  addition  to  such  advice  as  his  letter 
contained,  invited  the  gentleman  to  visit  Easton.  This 
he  did,  and  during  that  visit  made  a  public  confession  of 
Christ  as  his  Saviour,  and  was  received  into  the  church. 
Returning  to  his  home,  he  at  once  interested  himself  in 
looking  up  the  Presbyterians  of  the  place,  and  soliciting 
them  to  unite  with  him  and  his  wife — who  had  previously 
been  a  communicant — in  a  church  organization,  for  the 
establishment  of  which  in  that  important  field  the 
providence  of  God  had  been  so  manifestly  preparing  the 
way.  The  zealous  work  of  this  new  disciple  of  the 
Master  resulted  in  a  petition  reaching  the  Presbytery 
of  Newton,  which  body  at  its  full  meeting,  1835, 
appointed  a  committee  to  visit  Mauch  Chunk  and  answer 
the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  if  they  found  all  the  requisite 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  45 

conditions.  On  the  last  day  of  October  two  members 
of  that  committee  were  on  the  ground;  viz.,  the  Rev.  D. 
X.  Junkin,  chairman,  (who  had  expressed  his  willingness 
to  go  into  that  general  field  as  a  missionary  two  years 
earlier,  but  at  this  time  had  charge  of  one  of  the  churches 
of  the  Presbytery,)  and  with  him  Elder  Enoch  Green,  of 
the  first  church  of  Easton. 

The  next  day.  Sabbath,  Nov.  ist,  the  following 
persons,  the  charter  members  of  the  church,  were  formally 
organized,  viz.,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Bigger,  James 
Lesley,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Abiel  Abbot,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Merrit 
Abbot,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Washington  Smith,  Mrs. 
Thomas  Patterson,  Mrs.  John  Wilson,  John  Simpson, 
Mrs.  Margaret  Youngs,  Miss  Agnes  Youngs,  Mrs.  Daniel 
H.  Connor,  Miss  Susan  Hartz,  Miss  Mary  Hartz,  John 
Nichol,  Alexander  M'Lean,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Craig, 
John  Lile,  John  B.  Butler,  Mrs.  George  Adair,  and 
Nathan  Patterson.  At  the  same  time  three  elders  were 
elected,  ordained  and  installed,  viz.,  John  Simpson, 
James  Bigger  and  George  W.  Smith.  When  our  church 
entered  this  important  field,  it  found  the  Methodists 
already  intrenched  in  Mauch  Chunk.  They  generously 
opened  the  doors  of  their  house  of  worship  for  the 
new  ally,  and  between  them  and  the  Presbyterians 
there  has  always  been  maintained  the  most  fraternal 
relations.  Both  organizations  then  found  abundance  of 
work  among  those  already  on  the  ground,  and  among  the 
ever  increasing  numbers  carried  back  upon  the  cars  and 
boats  which  conveyed  the  coal  to  market,  so  adding  to 
the  toilers  and  to  those  who  increased  the  capital  and 
business  of  the  region.  Thus  additional  solitary  places 
among  the  mountains  would  soon  be  made  to  blossom  as 


46  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

the  rose,  and  upon  them  would  be  seen  the  beautiful  feet 
of  those  who  bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things  to  come. 

About  a  month  after  the  organization  of  the  Mauch 
Chunk  Presbyterian  church,  Dr.  Junkin  returns.  He  is 
accompanied  by  a  cherished  Seminary  friend  whom  he 
introduces  to  his  recently  made  friends  there.  He  is  a 
man  of  slender  frame,  but  commanding  bearing,  with  an 
impressive  eye,  a  thoughtful  and  benevolent  mien. 
He  had  been  in  training  to  do  an  important  work  for 
that  new  community,  and  for  others  that  soon  were  to  be 
gathered  in  the  region  round  about  it,  a  work  which, 
perhaps,  no  other  man  could  do  so  well. 

This  man  Dr.  Junkin  introduced  to  the  Presbyterians 
of  Mauch  Chunk  and  proposed  to  them  to  accept  his 
friend  as  a  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  carry 
forward  the  work  which  had  been  inaugurated  in  their 
organization  as  a  church. 

He  is  presented  to  them  as  a  man  consecrated  to  the 
service  of  Christ,  first  by  his  godly  parents  in  the 
covenant  of  baptism,  and  by  his  personal  re-consecration 
when  he  voluntarily  made  the  parental  act  his  own.  This 
was  done  early  in  life,  but  intelligently  and  heartily  done, 
when  he  devoted  himself  to  the  gospel  ministry.  After 
years  of  preparation,  aided  by  the  most  devoted  and 
wisest  men  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  he  had  offered 
himself  to  the  American  Board  of  Missions  to  go  to 
India,  and  now  that  he  is  providentially  hindered  from 
going  to  India,  he  is  found  offering  himself  to  a  depart- 
ment of  ministerial  work  calling  for  still  greater  self-denial 
in  some  respects  than  would  have  been  demanded  of  him 
if  he  had  been  sent  to  the  Orient — viz.,  foundation  work 
in  our  own  land. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  47 

With  such  an  introduction  of  such  a  man,  no 
obstacle  could  be  raised.  Mr.  Webster  entered  upon  his 
work.  At  first  only  a  part  of  his  time  could  be  given  to 
the  newly  organized  church ;  for  there  were  already  on 
the  mountains,  here  and  there  scattered  sheep  away 
from  the  shepherd's  care.  These  must  be  found ;  folds 
must  be  constructed  and  porters  appointed  for  their 
protection,  and  for  the  nurture  and  increase  of  the  flock. 
For  this  work  no  man  in  modern  times  had  keene; 
instincts,  because  none  have  more  fully  imbibed  the  Spirir 
of  the  Good  Shepherd  who  laid  down  his  life  for 
the  sheep. 

The  care  so  lovingly  bestowed  on  the  scattered  sheep 
did  not  lead  to  the  neglect  of  the  partially  folded  flock. 
For,  from  the  day  that  Dr.  Junkin  introduced  Mr, 
Webster  to  the  only  church  to  which  he  sustained  the 
relation  of  pastor  to  the  day  and  hour  of  his  release  from 
earthly  cares,  that  people  was  ever  before  his  eyes  and  in 
his  heart,  from  which  daily  petitions  in  their  behalf  arose 
to  the  Father  of  mercies. 

At  the  first,  Mr.  Webster's  pastoral  charge  was 
regarded  as  embracing  Summit  Hill,  which  is  nine  miles 
west  of  Mauch  Chunk.  Regular  services  were  given  to 
the  people  in  this  elevated  part  of  his  field.  These  were 
so  productive  of  good  fruits  that  in  the  year  1839  the 
members  of  the  Mauch  Chunk  church  residing  in  Summit 
Hill  were  organized  as  a  church.  One  year  earlier,  that 
part  of  Mr.  Webster's  original  field  embracing  the  village 
of  Beaver  Meadow,  had  been  accorded  an  organization. 
In  the  mean  time  Mr.  Webster  had,  in  April,  1837, 
received  a  formal  call  to  the  pastorate  over  the  little  flock 
to  which  he  was  introduced  in   1835.       It  was   for  one 


48  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

fourth  of  the  time.  The  installation  services  took  place 
in  July,  conducted  by  a  committee  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Newton.  Of  the  services  on  this  occasion  the  newly 
installed  pastor  said:  "Everything  was  appropriate  and 
solemn,  and  we  may  well  exclaim,  'Blessed  be  the  Lord, 
for  he  hath  showed  me  his  marvelous  loving  kindness. '  ' ' 

The  labors  of  the  young  pastor  were  not  only  given 
with  promptness  to  his  home  field,  to  Summit  Hill,  where 
23  of  the  former  members  of  the  Mauch  Chunk  church 
had  the  gospel  regularly  preached  to  them,  and  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  administered  twice  a  year, 
and  at  Beaver  Meadow,  where  like  services  were  rendered 
up  to  1839,  but  in  addition  to  these  points,  Tamaqua,  in 
Schuylkill  county,  and  Port  Clinton,  were  served  as 
frequently  as  possible;  also  Conyngham  valley.  This 
does  not  mean  occasional  sermons  only,  but  general 
pastoral  visitations,  reaching  every  family  and  individual 
accessible,  giving  to  all  and  every  one  kind  and  faithful 
personal  instruction  and  appeals,  ending  with  prayer. 

The  first  division  of  labor,  in  addition  to  what,  from 
the  beginning,  he  sought  to  secure  from  the  members  of 
his  session  and  members  of  his  church,  was  brought  about 
by  the  coming  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Gaston,  a  licentiate, 
who  had  been  a  student  in  Lafayette  College  and 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  Mr.  \\'ebster  had 
prepared  the  way  for  his  taking  hold  of  the  work  at 
Beaver  Meadow,  and  he  is  there  regularly  inducted  into 
the  pastorate.  Mr.  Webster,  as  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  J. 
Wallace  testifies  of  him,  "was  passionately  devoted  to  the 
Presbyterian  church,  holding  our  order  and  faith  to  be 
the  very  primitive  form  and  mold  of  apostolic  truth;  he 
could  conceive  of  nothing  more  noble  and  venerable  than 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  49 

Calvinism  and  Presbyterianism.  Around  the  church  he 
poured  the  wealth  of  his  reverence,  his  imagination,  and 
his  affections,"  and  yet,  as  it  seemed  to  the  writer,  no 
man  had  a  more  Catholic  spirit.  But  he  wisely  believed 
in  preaching  sound  doctrine  and  carrying  out  our  tried 
and  approved  order.  Therefore  we  find  the  Presbytery  of 
Newton  ordaining  and  installing  Mr.  Gaston,  and  two 
years  later,  after  having  followed  up  Mr.  Webster's  work 
in  Conyngham  valley  for  a  year,  Mr.  (xaston  was  installed 
pastor  of  the  church  there,  which  had  been  organized 
Dec.  19th,  1 84 1,  with  18  members. 

The  Conyngham  church  consisted  of  18  members, 
most  of  whom  had  previously  been  regarded  as  members 
of  the  Beaver  Meadow  church,  viz.,  Philip  Winterstene, 
William  T.  Rhoads,  Archibald  Delsney,  James  Gilmore, 
Mary  Winterstene,  Amy  Rhoads,  Letitia  McCarty,  Jane 
Sterling,  Martha  Shelhammer,  Mary  Muncey,  Keziah 
Brundage,  Cornelia  Godfrey,  Martha  Kan,  Mary  Sterling, 
Margaret  Winterstene,  Sarah  Ann  Miller,  Jane  Miller, 
Elijah  Cramer. 

Philip  Winterstene  was  installed  a  ruling  elder.  The 
Rev.  Daniel  Gaston  continued  in  charge  of  this  church  in 
connection  with  Beaver  Meadow  till  1844,  in  the  mean 
time,  viz.,  1843,  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  was  constituted 
and  these  churches  became  constituent  parts  of  the  same. 
Mr.  Gaston's  work  in  them  had  been  prospered  to  their 
enlargement.  He  afterwards  built  up  a  respectable 
church  in  the  suburbs  of  Philadelphia,  and  has  been 
honored  in  having  the  organization  he  effected  bear  his 
name.  His  earthly  labors  ended  April  28th,  1865,  and 
"his  works  do  follow  him,"  for  he  was  a  good  man  and  a 
faithful  minister. 


50  PKESBVTEKY    OF    LUZEKNE. 

The  Rev.  James  G.  Moore,  born  near  John.sbiirgh, 
N.  Y. ,  1813,  a  graduate  of  Lafayette  College  and  a 
Princeton  Seminary  student,  was  ordained  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  Luzerne  A])ril  i6th,  1845,  and  installed  pastor  of 
the  Beaver  Meadow  church,  which  had,  in  its  report  of 
1844,  shown  a  large  increase  in  its  membership,  the 
number  of  members  reported  being  68.  Mr.  Moore's  field 
does  not  seem,  as  Mr.  (laston's  did,  to  embrace  Conyng- 
ham  ^•alley,  but  by  the  direction  of  Presbytery  he  took 
into  his  field  some  other  of  the  places  which  shared  the 
earnest  attention  and  labors  of  Mr.  Webster.  He  gave 
more  time  to  Hazleton,  the  growing  importance  of  which 
he  duly  appreciated,  as  he  brought  fully  before  his 
brethren  the  wants  of  the  whole  of  the  southern  part  of 
the  Presbytery.  His  knowledge  was  personal,  and  his 
interest  in  all  the  destitute  parts  of  his  wide  field  was 
hearty  and  practical. 

'I'hat  part  of  Mr.  Webster's  original  field  known  as 
Conyngham  valley  (entire)  and  more  recently  a  part  of 
Mr.  Gaston's  charge,  was,  after  Mr.  Gaston's  relinquish- 
ment of  it,  occupied  by  Mr.  Darwin  Cook,  a  licentiate  of 
the  new  Presbytery.  Mr.  Cook  had  been  prej^ared  for 
college  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  Rev.  John 
Dorrance,  at  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  and  it  was 
through  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Dorrance  in  Ikadford  county 
that  he  probably  had  been  led  to  seek  preparation  for  the 
gospel  ministry.  He  graduated  at  Lafayette  College  and 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  with  the  same  class 
(1845)  of  which  Mr.  Moore  was  a  member.  Mr.  Cook 
was  directed  by  Presbytery  to  give  one  Sabbath  each 
month  to  missionary  work  in  White  Haven,  a  point  to 
which    the    attention    of    both    Mr.    Webster    and    Mr. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  5  I 

Dorrance  had  been  directed,  and  in  which  they  had 
become  mutually  interested.  In  Feb.,  1846,  the  Presby- 
tery of  Luzerne  ordained  Mr.  Cook  as  an  evangelist,  and 
as  such  we  find  him  doing  earnest  and  faithful  work,  not 
only  in  Conyngham  valley,  but  on  the  Lehigh  at  White 
Haven,  and  on  the  Susquehanna  at  Nanticoke,  where  the 
people  invited  him  to  give  them  half  his  time  and  promised 
one  hundred  dollars  salary.  Mr.  Cook  also  labored  in  the 
Schuylkill  valley  from  Tamaqua  almost  to  Pottsville 
during  his  six  years,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  native 
county,  Bradford,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Rome  church 
in  185 1,  and  in  1858  of  the  Wyalusing  church,  retiring  as 
pastor  emeritus  1885.  He  died  at  Stockton,  Sept.  13th, 
1888,  much  esteemed  as  a  man  and  minister  of  sterling 
devotion  and  integrity.  One  of  his  sons  became  a 
minister,  viz.,  the  Rev.  Milton  Lewis  Cook.  The  Rev, 
Philip  B.  Cook,  M.  D.,  was  his  brother. 

Summit  Hill  church,  after  its  organization.  May,  1839, 
was  regularly  supplied  by  Mr.  Webster  till  the  spring  of 
1842,  when  William  E.  Schenck,  a  licentiate  of  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  M^as  engaged  for  a  season  to 
do  missionary  work  at  Summit  Hill,  Tamaqua  and  Port 
Clinton.  In  the  narrative  to  the  Presbytery  of  Newton,  / 
April,  1843,  Mr.  Webster  says,  "The  missionary  col- 
lection" (in  the  Mauch  Chunk  church)  "has  been  larger 
than  in  any  previous  year.  W'ith  a  portion  of  it  we 
sustained  for  three  months  a  preacher  at  Summit  Hill  and 
Port  Clinton,  and  as  a  fruit,  the  former  place  is  now 
supplied  with  preaching  of  the  gospel  every  Sabbath,  and 
is  nearly  as  well  able  to  sustain  a  pastor  as  we  are 
ourselves."*     The  item  just  quoted  is  significant.       The 

*Miss  EUzabeth  Webster's  History  of  Mauch  Chunk  Church. 


52  PKESBYTEKY    OK    LUZERNE. 

little  church  to  which  Mr.  Webster  was  introduced  in 
Nov.,  1835,  and  from  which  he  went  forth  with  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  gospel  in  almost  every  direction,  is  now,  in 
1842,  surrounded  by  other  churches,  as  Beaver  Meadow, 
Summit  Hill,  Conyngham  valley,  and  other  established 
preaching  places  which  were  soon  destined  to  become  the 
homes  of  still  more  influential  churches,  such  as  Tama^iua, 
Hazleton,  WHiite  Haven  and  Weatherly.  To  ])roperly 
care  for  the  work  already  develojjed,  and  promptly  extend 
it,  he  saw,  as  perhajjs  no  one  else  did,  the  urgent  necessity 
for  a  new  Presbytery,  and  the  imjjortance  of  having  its 
territory  embrace,  as  far  as  possible,  the  entire  contiguous 
anthracite  coal  region  of  Pennsylvania.  Although  the 
Rev.  John  Dorrance,  pastor  at  Wilkes-Barre,  was  not  so 
much  impelled  by  his  immediate  surroundings  at  that 
time  to  move  in  behalf  of  a  new  Presbytery,  and  was 
more  restrained  by  his  association  with  l)rethren  from 
whom  the  jjroposed  movement  would  in  a  measure 
separate  him,  he  yet  saw  the  wisdom  of  the  projjosal. 
The  erection  of  the  Presbytery  was  accomplished  with 
his  co-operation,  and  while  his  life  continued  he  was 
always  a  recognized  leader  in  its  operations. 

The  first  rej^ort  from  the  Mauch  Chunk  church  to  the 
new  Presbytery  gives  its  membership  as  99.  Soon  after 
the  beginning  of  Mr.  Webster's  labors  in  Mauch  Chunk, 
there  were  evidences  of  the  Spirit's  presence,  and  souls 
were  brought  to  Christ,  whom  he  constantly  and  lovingly 
held  up  in  all  his  ministrations,  whether  in  the  puli)it,  in 
the  family,  or  in  personal  visitations. 

In  the  spring  of  1838,  Mr.  Webster  and  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Cross  of  Baltimore  were  married.  This  marriage 
resulted  in  such  domestic  felicity  as  might  be  expected  by 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  53 

such  as  knew  them,  and  were  acquainted  with  their  honor- 
able, intelligent  Christian  parentage  and  education,  their 
own  attainments,  principles  and  habits,  especially  their 
Christ-like  temper.  The  public  testimony  of  one  who 
knew  them  intimately,  through  their  entire  domestic  career 
— a  testimony  confirmed  by  many  others, —  was  one  that 
might  well  be  expected.  He  says  of  the  husband  in  his 
relation  to  the  home  established  by  this  marriage:  ''In  a 
home  of  more  than  usual  affection  and  felicity,  Mr.  Web- 
ster found  rest  amid  his  toils,  and  solace  in  his  trials.  A 
fonder,  happier,  or  wiser  husband  and  father  the  writer  has 
rarely  known. ' '  It  was,  and  continues  to  be,  a  model  home 
with  all  its  inmates  alike  its  ornaments.  The  only  survivor 
among  the  original  ministers  and  their  wives,  who  consti- 
tuted the  late  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  Mr.  Webster's  imme- 
diate successor  says  with  regard  to  Mrs.  Webster's  influence 
beyond  her  own  household,  "Mrs.  Webster,  of  whom  I 
would  love  to  speak,  but  who  would  not  be  willing  that  I 
should  say  what  I  owe  of  gratitude  and  love, —  of  all  my 
helpers  she  was  the  most  faithful  and  wise ;  she  saved  me 
from  many  a  mistake  and  helped  me  when  no  one  else 
could  have  been  of  any  assistance.  Much  of  my  success 
in  my  ministry  at  Mauch  Chunk  I  owe  to  her. ' '  Many 
other  young  ministers  received  aid  from  her  helpful 
suggestions,  while  enjoying  her  hospitality. 

As  Mr.  Webster  was  from  time  to  time  relieved  of 
the  ministerial  care  of  the  more  distant  parts  of  his  field, 
he  gave  special  attention  to  intermediate  points,  many  of 
which  he  regularly  visited  and  supplied  on  Sabbath 
afternoons  and  during  the  week,  frequently  walking  to  and 
from  these  places. 


54  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE, 

To  new  places,  Mr.  Webster's  benevolent  counte- 
nance, his  genial  bearing  and  reputation  for  disinterested 
Christian  zeal,  always  secured  for  him  a  hearty  welcome, 
the  cordiality  increasing  with  the  growing  familiarity. 
None  questioned  his  motives,  nor  was  it  necessary  for  him 
to  assert  his  love  for  the  Master,  or  for  the  people. 

The  Mauch  Chunk  church  has  always  had  an 
intelligent,  working  session,  although  for  some  time  it  was 
small  in  numbers,  e.  g.,  from  1838  to  1842  it  consisted 
of  the  pastor  and  Mr.  George  W.  Smith.  During  this 
period,  however,  the  sessional  records  "show  a  vast 
amount  of  work  done  thoroughly  and  faithfully."  At  that 
time  elder  Smith  conducted  Sabbath  services  in  the 
absence  of  the  i)astor.  April  13th,  1842,  Mr.  John 
Ruddle  and  Dr.  John  D.  Thompson  were  elected  elders. 

In  the  history  of  this  church,  carefully  written  by  a 
daughter  of  its  first  pastor,  we  find  the  following  with 
reference  to  its  session.  She  says:  "We  notice  first,  the 
extreme  care  of  session  in  receiving  members  into  the 
church.  In  the  formative  years,  great  wisdom  and 
discretion  were  needed  in  admitting  persons  to  the 
communion  of  the  church.  No  doubt  our  church  owes 
much  to  the  decided  action  and  careful  deliberation  of  the 
men  who  constituted  the  session.  There  was  no  undue 
haste  in  this  important  matter,  but  there  was  most  careful 
and  thorough  examination.  When  there  was  any  doubt 
of  the  knowledge  of  sjjiritual  things,  the  person  was  held 
back  for  a  time  and  instructed  by  the  pastor.  When 
there  was  a  shadow  on  the  reputation,  the  person  was 
refused  admission  until  truly  penitent,  and  all  was  cleared 
away.  The  session  also  watched  over  the  members  of  the 
church  with  loving  interest.       The  purity  of  the  church 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  55 

was  very  precious  to  them,  and  they  guarded  it  with 
jealous  care,  that,  if  possible,  not  even  one  spot  should 
mar  the  purity  of  the  church  of  Christ.  Carelessness  in 
attendance  upon  public  worship,  disregard  of  the  Lord's 
Day,  speaking  reproachfully  of  one's  neighbors,  tavern 
keeping,  intemperance  and  profanity,  were  all  brought 
before  the  session.  If  continued,  a  member  of  the  session 
was  appointed  to  visit  and  admonish  the  erring  one.  If 
the  admonition  was  neglected,  the  offender  was  cited  to 
appear  before  the  session  and  answer  the  charge. "  It  is 
in  evidence  that  no  judgment  was  rendered  until  after  a 
careful,  orderly  and  prayerful  investigation  had  been 
made.  A  thorough  sessional,  as  well  as  pastoral  visitation 
was  made  frequently  to  every  family  of  the  congregation. 
In  1852  Elder  Ruddle  resigned,  and  in  1854  Dr. 
Thompson  died,  and  from  the  latter  date  until  1856,  the 
pastor  and  elder  Smith  constituted  the  session. 

Daring  Mr.  Webster's  ministry,  there  were  several 
periods  which  caused  him  the  deepest  solicitude,  times 
of  apparent  reaction  after  some  seasons  of  more  than  usual 
spiritual  awakening  and  ingathering.  These  quickened 
the  pastor's  diligence  and  prayerfulness.  From  the 
recent  settlement  of  the  village,  its  mixed  population, 
and  the  variety  of  motives  which  brought  the  people 
together  and  gave  bias  to  their  sentiments  and  pursuits,  it 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  perfect  accord  and  the  most 
efficient  work  could  be  secured  at  once  in  church 
activities  ;  but  Mr.  AVebster's  wise  and  devoted  ministry 
accomplished  much  in  that  direction.  Many  seasons  of 
revival  were  enjoyed  as  the  result  of  the  pastor's  labors, 
and  his  people's  co-operation.  Outside  human  help  was 
seldom,  if  ever,  invoked.  As  the  church  grew  in 
numbers,  it  grew  in  stability,  based  on  divine  truth. 


56  PRESBYTERY    Ol-    LUZERNE. 

The  Sabbath  School  was  recognized  as  an  important 
agency  in  upbuilding,  and  its  operations  were  carefully 
directed  by  the  responsible  authorities  of  the  church,  who 
have  maintained  the  teaching  of  the  "form  of  sound 
words"  which  the  Spirit  has  so  honored,  in  the  work 
which  the  Presbyterian  and  kindred  churches  have  been 
the  means  of  doing  in  the  world  for  human  salvation,  and 
civil  and  religious  liberty. 

The  history  of  the  Sabbath  School  in  Mauch  Chunk, 
from  which  all  the  Sabbath  Schools  in  Carbon  county  had 
their  origin,  is  a  matter  of  importance.  While  started  by 
a  Presbyterian,  it  antedates  the  organization  of  our  church 
ten  years. 

In  1835,  Mr.  Joseph  P.  Engles,=>  then  in  Mauch 
Chunk,  was  the  means  of  inaugurating  the  work  and 
securing  the  necessary  supply  of  books  and  other  things. 

Of  course,  in  the  absence  of  any  organized  church, 
it  was  a  union  school.  When  the  Methodist  church  came 
into  existence,  and  had  secured  a  hou.se  of  worship,  their 
co-operation  ceased,  leaving  the  Presbyterians  and  Episco- 
palians in  union,  who  worked  harmoniously  under 
superintendents,  Asa  L.  Foster,  William  H.  Sayre,  Nathan 
Patterson,  and  James  W.  Barnes.  The  school  prospered 
under  this  management  for  several  years.  When  the 
Episcopalians  withdrew,  that  left  only  Presbyterians,  the 
original  active  element.  The  first  record  of  sessional 
supervision  was  made  May  8th,  1839.  The  careful  study 
of  the  catechism  was  provided  for  in  the  school.  Other 
schools  were  early  arranged  for  at  all  the  regular  preaching 
places  occupied  by  Mr.  Webster;  and  in  maintaining  them 
the  members  of  his  session  were  active  and  persevering. 

♦Subsequently,  1839-1867,  Publishing  Ageut  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Publication. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  57 

At  Mauch  Chunk,  the  session  was  formally  made 
responsible  for  the  regulation  of  the  school,  Feb.  i6th, 
1840,*  and  rules  were  then  adopted  for  its  management. 
Mr.  Nathan  Patterson  was  then  superintendent,  and 
continued  in  that  office  till  1844,  when  the  same  duties 
were  assumed  in  Summit  Hill,  which  then  had  become  his 
residence.  Elder  Ruddle  was  made  superintendent  in 
1845,  Mr.  Lewis  Hoyt  1848,  Mr.  George  W.  Helme 
1849,  Mr.  J.  H.  Siewers  performed  the  duties  of  the 
office  after  Mr.  Helme' s  removal  from  Mauch  Chunk. 
Mr.  Charles  G.  Rockwood  was  next  appointed,  and 
superintended  the  school  till  he  left  Mauch  Chunk 
in    1857. 

During  Elder  Rockwood' s  superintendency,  the 
Sabbath  School  was  moved  into  the  lecture  room  of  the 
new  church,  which  gave  it  an  impetus.  The  faithful 
superintendent  says  in  his  report  in  the  spring  of  1857, 
"Our  school  prospers  and  is,  perhaps,  larger  than  ever 
before.  We  have  on  the  roll  290  scholars,  and  31 
teachers.  The  teachers  keep  up,  with  interest,  a  weekly 
meeting  for  study,  which  is  well  attended. ' ' 

After  Mr.  Rockwood,  Mr.  A.  G.  Broadhead  filled  the 
office  for  a  period  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  when  he 
retired  received  the  thanks  of  the  session  for  his  long, 
efficient  and  acceptable  service.  Mr.  Broadhead' s  term 
of  service  extended  beyond  the  life  of  Luzerne  Presbytery, 
and  covered  a  troublous  period  in  the  history  of  our 
country,  and  several  changes  in  the  pastorate  of  the 
church,  which  indicates  acceptable  and  wise  management, 
meriting  the  thanks  given  to  him  by  the  session  at  the 
close  of  his  service. 

*Rev.  Dr.  Ferrier'.s  Historical  Seriuon. 


58  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

Pastor  Webster,  during  the  greater  part  of  his 
ministry,  labored  under  the  disad\antage  of  having  a 
house  of  worshi])  that  was  inadecjuate  to  the  wants  of  the 
field.  It  was  erected  soon  after  the  missionary  work 
began  in  Mauch  Chunk  and  the  regions  round  about, 
when  the  town  was  small  and  the  people  generally  poor, 
and  during  troul)lous  times  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
this  country ;  when  as  yet  our  noble  and  beneficent  Board 
of  Church  Erection  had  not  been  born  ;  when  the  growth 
and  stability  of  the  little  town  was  not  yet  certain ; 
therefore  this  structure  soon  proved  too  small.  It  was, 
however,  substantial,  being  built  of  stone,  and  to  those 
whose  hearts,  within  these  stony  walls,  had  so  often  been 
made  to  swell  with  gratitude  to  God  and  with  love  to 
each  other,  it  was  a  good  and  attractive  place,  where  they 
fondly  lingered. 

Yet,  as  early  as  1847,  the  enterj^rising  women  of  the 
congregation  inaugurated  measures  for  providing  means 
for  a  more  commodious  sanctuary.  These  were  not  only 
successful  in  that  direction,  but  also  in  calling  into 
activity  and  deei)ening  the  zeal  of  several  young  ladies 
whose  earnest  helpfulness  has  continued  and  increased 
even  down  to  old  age.  These  ladies  are  pointed  out  as 
illustrious  examples  of  faithful  stewardship. 

It  was,  however,  nearly  ten  years  before  the  com- 
pletion of  the  new  and  commodious  house  of  worship, 
which  was  built  in  a  defile  of  the  mountain,  over  a 
rushing  stream  whose  unceasing  music  also  praises  God. 
The  voice  of  the  beloved  pastor  whose  faithful  instructions 
and  whose  tender  and  pathetic  appeals  had  gone  forth  for 
a  score  of  years  from  his  very  heart  was  never  to  be 
heard  in  the  new  house.      But  the  echo  and  memory  of  its 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  59 

Utterances  have  not  yet  died  away  in  the  minds  of  those 
to  whom  they  were  originally  addressed,  the  faithful  men 
and  women  whom  God  has  raised  up  to  carry  forward, 
through  the  agencies  of  the  new  sanctuary,  the  work  of 
the  devoted  Webster,  "who  being  dead,  yet  speaketh." 

Mr.  Webster,  as  a  presbyter,  or  member  of  other 
ecclesiastical  bodies,  notwithstanding  the  disadvantage 
of  his  ever-increasing  deafness,  was  always  influential, 
because  of  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  whole 
range  of  subjects  to  be  considered,  his  good  judgment, 
the  directness  and  ability  with  which  he  approached  the 
particular  topic  to  be  discussed,  and  his  ever  Christian 
and  courteous  spirit  and  address,  spiced  with  his  charac- 
teristic wit  and  humor.  It  need  not  be  added  that  he  was 
a  popular  member  of  ecclesiastical  courts.  There  are 
some  still  living  who  remember  an  occasion  in  the  Synod 
of  New  Jersey,  when  the  question  of  dividing  that  Synod 
was  under  consideration.  Some  of  the  brethren  recoiled 
from  the  long,  perilous,  and  fatiguing  journey  necessary 
to  reach  meetings  among  the  mountains  in  eastern 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  large  missionary  aid  needed  in 
that  part  of  the  Synod,  and  they  earnestly  pleaded  for 
division.  Mr.  Webster,  without  having  heard  a  word 
that  had  been  said  in  the  discussion,  arose  in  his  place  at 
the  proper  time,  and,  seeming  to  have  been  fully  aware  of 
the  drift  things  were  taking,  characterized  the  spirit  of  the 
movement  in  one  of  the  most  facetious  and  trenchant 
speeches  the  writer  ever  heard.  The  Synod  was  not 
divided  in  his  day. 

In  playful  repartee  with  his  brethren  he  was  a  master. 
But  there  was  no  bitterness  in  his  witticisms — nothing 
calculated  to  give  pain  to  those  at  whom  they  were  so 


60  PRESBYTERY    OF'    LUZERNE. 

pleasantly  aimed.  If  Mr.  Webster  ever  had  any  misun- 
derstanding with  any  of  his  ministerial  brethren,  the 
writer  never  knew  of  it.  They  all  loved  him  and  he 
loved  them.  The  Presbytery  of  which  he  was  the 
respected  father  was  indeed  fraternal.  The  Rev.  Dr.  C. 
R.  Lane,  a  prominent  member,  in  writing  to  Mrs. 
Webster,  long  after  her  husband's  death,  asks,  "Was  there 
ever  such  a  Presbytery  "  (in  this  respect)  "  as  Luzerne?" 
It  certainly  was  a  delightful  body  of  men. 

Mr.  Webster,  as  a  preacher,  was  methodical,  instructive, 
plain,  and  eminently  practical  in  his  presentation  of  the 
gospel.  None  who  heard  him  c}uestioned  his  love  for  the 
truths  he  uttered,  or  his  judgment  as  to  their  importance 
to  those  whom  he  addressed.  He  was  not  a  speculative 
or  philosophizing  preacher,  but  delivered  his  message  as 
from  God,  without  leaving  the  impression  that  he  himself 
questioned  it,  and  was  reasoning  himself  into  the  cordial 
belief  thereof.  He  evidently  was  not  found  in  the  pulpit 
for  the  purpose  of  personal  display.  He  wanted  to  secure 
attention,  in  his  own  country,  to  that  gospel  which  he 
would  gladly  have  carried  to  India,  regarding  it  as  no  less 
precious  or  necessary  at  home.  He  ceased  not  to 
commend  it  with  the  deepest  solicitude,  to  the  very  hour 
of  his  departure,  to  those  around  him  and  those  whom  he 
could  reach  by  messages  of  \o\e. 

The  consciousness  to  which  he  was  so  unexpectedly 
and  recently  awakened,*  viz.,  that  the  time  had  come  for 
his  separation  from  one  of  the  happiest  of  earthly  homes, 
and  one  ui)on  which  no  such  dark  cloud  had  before  risen, 
did  not   in   that   trying   hour   wholly  occupy  his   loving 

*Mr.  Webster's  illness  was  of  such  a   character  as  to  awaken  no  fear 
of  a  fatal  result  until  a  short  time  before  the  end  came. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  6 1 

solicitude.  It  also  embraced  his  congregation,  especially 
members  of  it  for  whose  salvation  he  was  so  anxious. 
These  were  in  his  heart  and  in  his  last  prayers,  and  to 
some  of  them  he  dictated  loving  appeals  from  their  dying 
pastor.  From  him  the  sting  of  death  had  been  averted. 
When  death  approached  to  do  his  work  he  did  not  know 
him,  and  was  not  alarmed  when  made  aware  of  his 
presence.  His  abiding  affection  for  the  loved  on  earth, 
and  his  interest  in  them,  were  in  no  measure  lessened,  but 
his  realization  of  and  delight  in  the  yet  unseen  things 
above  were  greatly  increased.  Thus  the  Rev.  Richard 
Webster  ended  his  earthly  ministry,  June  19th,  1856, 
when  a  little  less  than  forty-five  years  of  age,  with  an 
established  reputation,  an  acquired  experience,  and  with 
increased  facilities  for  prosecuting  his  pastoral  work 
secured,  but  not  yet  used.  His  earthly  sun  set  at 
noon-day.  His  last  sermon,  which  was  so  impressive 
that  some  members  of  his  congregation  regarded  it  as 
prophetic,  was  with  reference  to  Enoch's  communion 
with  God  and  his  translation  to  glory. 

Many  pages  might  be  inserted  relative  to  the 
remarkable  close  of  Mr.  Webster's  days  on  earth,  but 
passing  by  others  equally  to  be  noted,  the  testimony  of 
Elder  Charles  G.  Rockwood,  the  intelligent  and  devoted 
Sabbath  School  superintendent,  will  only  be  given  here. 
Mr.  Rockwood,  after  giving  a  just  and  appreciative 
sketch  of  the  character  and  worth  of  his  late  beloved 
pastor,  says  :  "I  was  permitted  to  be  with  him  for  the 
last  ten  or  eleven  hours,  and  a  greater  privilege  is  seldom 
enjoyed  in  a  lifetime.  No  written  narrative  of  peaceful 
death-bed  scenes  ever  gave  me  such  a  realizing  sense  of 
the  value  of  a  good  hope  in  Christ  and  daily  consecration 


62  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

to  (rod  as  a  preparation  for  deatli.  There  was  not  a  fear 
or  a  doubt.  His  mind  was  calm  and  composed,  though 
active  and  fully  awake  to  his  nearness  to  eternity;  yet  all 
was  peace,  and  joyful  anticipations  for  himself  and 
cheerful  trust  in  God  for  his  family  and  his  church." 

In  addition  to  Mr.  Webster's  missionary  and  pastoral 
labors  he  had  written  considerable — mostly  the  result  of 
patient  and  extensive  research — with  reference  to  the 
planting  of  our  church  and  her  institutions  in  this 
country.*  Although  his  work  in  this  direction  was  not 
completed,  he  left  much  valuable  information,  a  part  of 
which  was  published  about  as  he  left  it,  under  the 
supervision  of  his  life-long  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cortland 
Van  Renselaer,  also  of  precious  memory.  His  ministry 
resulted  in  raising  up  succe.ssors  in  the  sacred  office.  His 
family  consisted  of  his  wife,  (who  still  lives,  and  does 
much  for  the  furtherance  of  the  work  her  husband 
inaugurated),  with  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  the  last 
born  a  short  time  after  her  father's  death.  The  eldest 
son,  John  Cross,  died  in  childhood.  The  second  son, 
Charles  Edward,  was  early  inducted  into  the  Eldership  of 
his  father's  church.  He  subsequently  performed  the 
duties  of  the  office  in  Pottsville  church,  and  now  is  an 
elder  of  the  South  Bethlehem  church.  In  all  these 
places  he  is  highly  esteemed  for  his  official  faithfulness 
and  as  an  honored  business  man. 

Mr.  Webster's  third  son  is  the  Rev.  William  S.  C. 
Webster,  D.  D.,  who  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne,    after    completing    the   full   course   of  study   in 

*He  also  published  A  Digest  of  the  Deliverances  of  the  General  Assembly. 
Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  full  text  of  these  several  deliverances  were  not 
printed  in  full  in  his  Book  it  did  not  retain  the  regard  to  which  it  was 
entitled. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  63 

Princeton  College  and  Seminary,  and,  subsequently,  after 
spending  some  time  in  teaching,  and  as  stated  supply  of 
Paris  church,  Kentucky,  he  was  advanced  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  Lehigh  as  minister  of  the  Weatherly  church,  a 
part  of  his  father's  original  field.  He  is  now  pastor  of 
the  Inslip  church,  Nassau  Presbytery,  N.  Y.  His  record 
indicates  his  fidelity  to  his  father's  church,  and  his 
success  in  its  service.  The  Rev.  Richard  B.  Webster, 
the  fourth  son  of  the  Mauch  Chunk  pastor,  is  now  the 
successful  and  honored  pastor  of  the  Westminster  church 
of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  also  a  graduate  of  the  Princeton 
institutions.  The  fifth  son,  Henry  Horace,  possessed  of 
a  remarkably  amiable  and  sprightly  disposition,  was  not 
only  loved  ardently  in  his  own  family,  but  wherever  he 
was  known,  especially  in  college  at  Princeton,  where  his 
Christian  character,  early  attained  and  always  maintained, 
together  with  his  zeal,  prudence,  ability  and  tact,  made 
him  a  power  for  good  among  the  students,  not  only  in 
the  'class  room  and  the  prayer  meeting,  but  on  the 
campus  as  well,  as  he  heartily  and  vigorously  participated 
in  the  manly  sports  of  the  field,  and  greatly  enjoyed 
them. 

After  his  graduation,  in  connection  with  his  business 
engagements,  he  did  good  and  acceptable  evangelistic 
services  in  the  Sabbath  Schools  and  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  in  his  native  town,  and  afterwards 
in  New  York  city,  to  which  he  was  invited  to  take  an 
important  official  position  in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  movement ; 
but  soon  after  he  entered  upon  his  work  and  had 
demonstrated  his  ability  to  meet  its  responsibilities,  and 
had  attracted  the  aftection  and  secured  the  co-operation 
of  his  associates,  he  was  called  to  lay  down  that  work  and 


64  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

join  his  sainted  father  in  services  above.  He  died 
January  17,  1891.  The  character  and  work  of  Henry 
Horace  Webster  were  soon  after  his  death  lovingly 
embalmed  in  a  suitable  memoir  prepared  by  Jasper  Van 
Vleck,  an  associate  in  Christian  service,  who  was  also 
called  from  earthly  work  soon  afterward.  This  little 
book  was  published  by  "The  Young  Men's  Era"  Pub- 
lishing Co.,  Chicago,  111. 

Mr.  Webster's  three  daughters,  who  solace  the 
mother  in  the  absence  of  her  beloved  husband  and  sons, 
are  active  and  efficient  Christian  workers.  The  youngest 
of  them  has  recently  prepared  an  excellent  history  of  the 
Mauch  Chunk  church,  to  which  the  writer  has  been  much 
indebted. 

From  the  Mauch  Chunk  church,  during  Mr. 
Webster's  ministry,  the  Rev.  Edward  Kennedy,  Rev. 
James  Scott  and  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Porter,  members  of  his 
church,  entered  upon  a  course  of  study  for  the  gospel 
ministry  which  they  regularly  completed,  and  were,  in 
due  course  of  time,  inducted  into  the  sacred  office,  as 
ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Another  member  of  the  Mauch  Chunk  church  during 
Mr.  Webster's  time,  afterwards  inducted  into  the 
ministry,  viz.,  Mr.  Peter  Munnes,  for  four  years  the 
leader  of  the  choir  and  superintendent  of  a  branch 
Sunday  School,  was,  after  leaving  Mauch  Chunk,  taken 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Baltimore,  licensed, 
and  ordained  in  1853. 

Another  remark  is  in  place  with  reference  to  Mr. 
Webster's  ministry.  It  is  the  loving  regard  which  it 
elicited  for  his  work  from  so  many  members  of  his 
church,  as  well  as  their  love  for  him  personally. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  65 

The  writer,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  became 
pastor  to  a  large  number  who  had  been  of  his  flock. 
These  persons  from  Mauch  Chunk  church  were  disposed 
to  entertain  the  most  considerate  regard  for,  and  extend 
the  most  generous  treatment  to,  other  ministers,  whom 
they  regarded  as  honestly  engaged  in  the  work  which  had 
filled  Mr.  Webster's  heart  and  consumed  his  time  and 
strength. 

He  elevated  the  ministry  as  few  men  have  done, 
calling  out  the  loving  regard  of  his  people  which  did  not 
terminate  with  him  personally,  but  reached  all  others 
engaged  in  like  work  with  like  zeal  and  spirit  as  to  the 
Master  and  as  to  men.  He  seemed  more  anxious  to 
honor  the  office  than  to  be  honored  in  it. 

The  Rev.  J.  Aspinwall  Hodge,  his  immediate 
successor,  in  a  recent  communication  says  of  Mr. 
Webster:  'T  was  not  blessed  with  a  personal  knowledge 
of  him.  The  character  of  his  work  in  Mauch  Chunk  I 
am  now  competent  to  estimate.  While  there  I  thought  I 
fully  appreciated  it,  but  since  I  have  been  able  to 
compare  it  with  that  of  others,  I  am  more  and  more 
filled  with  admiration  ;  for  it  far  surpasses  in  faithfulness 
and  durability  the  work  of  any  minister,  perhaps,  that 
I  know." 


VII. 
THE  REV.  JOHN  DORRANXE,  D.  D., 

AND 

THE    WILKES- BARRE    PRESBYTERIAN 
CHURCH. 


THIS  distinguished  member  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne  did  not,  for  the  first  time,  come  into  vital 
relationship  with  this  cliurch  when  he  became  its  pastor 
in  1833.  He  was  born  within  its  pale,  breathed  its 
atmosphere,  and  received  its  moral  and  intellectual 
training,  until  prepared  to  enter  and  receive  the  culture 
of  institutions  affording  more  ample  facilities  for  ex- 
tended intellectual  attainments  than  were,  as  yet,  enjoyed 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  his  pleasant  home  in  the 
beautiful  valley  in  which  he  was  born.  We  have  already 
noted  above  the  institutions  in  which  he  studied,  the 
direction  of  his  pursuits,  his  return  to  his  native  valley, 
his  licensure  to  preach  the  gospel,  his  subsequent 
departure  to  the  south,  his  induction  into  the  full  work 
of  the  gospel  ministry,  his  successful  work  in  Mississippi, 
and  Bradford  county.  Pa.,  but  in  addition  to  this,  it  is 
due  to  the  man  whose  work  and  influence  was  second  to 
none  in  the  establishment  and  enlargement  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  and  to  all  who  are  and  may 
hereafter  be  interested  in  the  work  for  the  advancement 
of   Christ's   kingdom  accomi)lished  by  that   Presbytery, 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  6/ 

that  we  should  give  here  a  more  extended  biographical 
sketch  of  Dr.  Dorrance.  This  we  are  enabled  to  do 
through  the  filial  regard  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  G.  M. 
Reynolds,  who  has  furnished  the  writer  ample  material, 
and  in  such  a  way  as  to  clearly  indicate  the  reverence, 
affection  and  honor  ardently  cherished  for  her  father. 

When  the  Dorrance  family  came  to  Pennsylvania,  it 
was,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  Connecticut  family, 
but  Mrs.  Reynolds  says  of  her  father,  "that  his  great 
grandfather  and  first  American  ancestor  was  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Dorrance,  a  Presbyterian  minister  who  came  from 
Ireland  in  1723.  He  settled  at  Voluntown,  Conn.,  and 
was  the  first  Presbyterian  minister  settled  in  New 
England.*  He  was  a  graduate  of  Glasgow  University 
and,  his  gravestone  says,  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Dumbarton,  Scotland.  One  of  his  sons 
was  George  Dorrance,  who  was  commissioned  a  first 
lieutenant  of  the  24th  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Militia  in 
1775.  He  came  to  Wyoming  Valley  and  was  in  the  little 
company  that  marched  against  the  English  and  Indians 
on  the  fatal  3rd  of  July,  1778,  when  the  massacre  took 
place.  He  ranked,  in  that  battle,  Lieut.  Col.,  and 
commanded  the  left  wing.  He  was  wounded,  captured, 
and  the  next  day  slain.  One  of  his  children,  a  small  boy 
at  that  time,  was  Benjamin.  He  resided  all  his  life  on 
the  property  on  which  his  father  had  settled,  situated  one 
and  one  half  miles  from  Wilkes-Barre,  at  Kingston. 
There  my  father  was  born  on  the  28th  of  February,  1800. 
His  father  was  a  man  of  prominence  in  the  community, 
being  the  first  President  of  the  Wyoming  Bank,  and  was 

*Mather  says  that  4000  Presbj-terians  settled   New  England  before  1640. 
See  Hodge's  History  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  p.  60. 


68  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

sent  to  the  Legislature  for  eight  consecutive  years.  My 
father  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Academy,  and  at  Chester,  Connecticut.  He  graduated 
at  Princeton  college,  1823,  and  the  Theological  Seminary 
in  1826." 

With  regard  to  the  mother  of  Mr.  Dorrance,  Mrs. 
Reynolds  is  certainly  right  in  saying  that  "reference  to 
her  may  not  be  uninteresting."  "His  mother  was  Nancy 
Buckingham,  who  was  the  sixth  generation  from  Thomas 
Buckingham,  the  Puritan  settler  who  came  to  America  in 
1637,  with  Davenport,  Ponden,  Eaton,  Hopkins  and 
others,  who  constituted  what  is  known  as  the  New  Haven 
Colony,  they  being  the  founders  of  that  town.  Thomas, 
his  son,  was  a  Congregational  minister,  and  one  of  the 
founders  and  fellows  of  Yale  College.  So  my  father  was 
of  ministerial  descent  on  both  sides." 

In  going  south  as  a  missionary,  Dr.  Dorrance, 
although  in  delicate  health,  left  home  on  horseback, 
making  the  entire  distance  in  that  way  from  Wyoming 
Valley  to  Baton  Rouge,  Miss.  While  engaged  in 
planting  a  southern  church,  the  Lord  gave  him,  what  to 
a  devoted  minister  is  always  the  best  earthly  helper,  a 
good  wife,  in  the  person  of  Miss  Penelope  Mercer,  then 
residing  on  a  neighboring  plantation  with  a  widowed 
sister.  This,  beloved  wife  long  cheered  his  home,  where 
she  always  presided  with  grace  and  dignity  ;  nor  was  she 
ever  wanting  in  wise  and  helpful  counsel  in  her  husband's 
official  work.  She,  however,  felt  that  her  most  important 
work  was  to  exercise  Christian  care  over  her  household, 
especially  guarding  and  polishing  her  "Cornelian  jewels," 
eight  of  which  had  been  bestowed  on  this  loving  house- 
hold, all  of  them  giving  promise  of  ever  increasing  value; 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  69 

but  the  Lord  who  gave,  recalled  six  of  the  bright  ones. 
Still  his  name  was  blessed  by  the  parents,  who  recognized 
that  he  thereby  indicated  a  change  of  duty  from  doing  to 
enduring ;  and  this  in  their  sadness  they  sought  grace  to 
accept. 

The  church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  from  which  Dr. 
Dorrance  accepted  a  call,  and  over  which  he  was 
installed  in  August,  1833,  had,  until  a  short  time 
previous  to  this  date,  embraced  the  whole  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley,  Lackawanna  also,  and  indeed  all  of  Luzerne 
county  north  and  east  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston,  or 
the  locality  occupied  by  these  places.  It  was  the 
religious  Jerusalem  of  all  the  above  described  region. 
Thither  the  tribes  went  up  to  worship. 

The  first  Connecticut  colony,  in  1762,  had  for  its 
minister  the  Rev.  William  Marsh,  but  of  his  personal 
sentiments  and  services  we  only  know  from  his  connection 
with  the  colony  and  from  what  we  would  naturally 
conjecture  from  his  official  position.  This  entire  colony 
was  soon  scattered  and  many  of  its  members  murdered  by 
the  Indians,  among  them  this  minister. 

The  colony  which  came  in  1769  met  unexpected 
opposition  from  the  white  men,  and  was  destined  to  pass 
through  a  baptism  of  blood  ;  to  be  involved  in  strife  as 
to  the  proprietary  right  to  the  soil,  and  in  revolutionary 
struggles  ;  to  witness  the  massacre  of  its  choicest  members 
and  defenders  ;  to  be  scattered  far  and  wide  ;  and  yet  to 
be  regathered,  and  in  destitution  and  amidst  contentions 
to  begin  anew  preparations  for  life  on  the  denuded  soil 
of  their  former  homes  ;  and  still  in  their  toils  to  grow 
stronger  and  stronger.  The  '69  colony  had  originally 
for    their    minister    the    Rev.    George    Beckwith.        He 


70  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

remained  but  one  year.  Sometime  after,  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Johnson,  a  man  of  learning  and  piety,  came  to  Wyoming 
Valley  to  minister  to  the  colonists.  He  was  a  graduate 
of  Yale  College.  He  had  spent  some  years  of  his  earlier 
ministry  as  a  missionary  among  the  Mohawk  Indians.  So 
he  was  not  a  very  young  man,  but  one  whose  reputation 
was  established,  and  he  never  ceased  to  be  respected.  Of 
the  movements  early  made  by  this  colony  for  its  spiritual 
and  intellectual  wants,  Dr.  Dorrance  says,  in  his  anniver- 
sary sermon  for  1853,  "In  laying  out  the  land  in 
the  several  townships,  a  tract  sufficiently  large  was 
reserved  for  school  purposes,  and  another  for  the 
support  of  a  pastor.  If  the  school  fund  had  been 
properly  managed,  we  should  now  be  free  from  present 
taxation.  The  provision  for  a  settled  minister  would 
have  been  sufficient  also,  but  might  have  led  to  con- 
tentions as  other  denominations  arose." 

"As  early  as  1772,  only  two  years  after  the  first 
arrival  of  our  fathers  upon  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna, 
when,  as  yet,  few  of  the  pioneers  had  ventured  to  expose 
their  families  to  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  frontier 
life,  they  sought  to  obtain  the  settlement,  as  their  pastor, 
of  the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson." 

"On  the  nth  of  September,  1772,  the  proprietors 
in  Town  meeting  voted  to  give  to  him,  and  his  heirs 
forever,  in  case  he  settled  with  us,  fifty  acres  of  any  land 
now  undivided,  in  this  Township,  wherever  he  may 
choose."  Mr.  Anderson  Dana  and  Asa  Stephens  were 
appointed  to  confer  with  Mr.  Johnson  and  with  a 
committee  of  other  towns  agreeable  to  the  vote  of  the 
company  of  the  settlers  of  the  five  towns.  "In  March, 
1773)  it  was  voted  to  purchase  a  lot  in  the  town  plot  for 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  7 1 

Mr,  Johnson,  provided  he  did  settle  with  us."  And 
subsequently,  the  island  below  town  (i.  e.  Wilkes-Barre) 
then  of  considerable  size  and  value  for  culture  and  as  a 
fishery,  was  added. 

"August  23rd,  1773,  when  the  formal  call  was  made, 
the  salary  was  fixed  at  sixty  pounds  sterling  (^300),  with 
the  promise  of  raising  it,  as  they  were  able,  to  100 
pounds.  This,  with  a  house  built  by  the  town,  a  lot  and 
fifty  acres  of  land,  was  a  most  liberal  provision,  more  so 
when  the  times  are  considered  than  has  since  been  made 
for  any  subsequent  pastor.  This,  while  it  exhibits  the 
solicitude  of  our  ancestors  for  gospel  privileges,  also 
brings  to  view  another  trait  of  their  character,  viz., 
freedom  from  intolerance.  The  salary  was  ordered  to  be 
assessed  on  the  tax  list.  This  was  the  invariable 
precedent  in  Connecticut.  They  knew  no  other.  But 
when  a  few  who  were  not  Congregationalists,  perhaps 
Baptists,  remonstrated  against  the  measure,  they  at  once 
rescinded  their  resolution,  and  raised  the  sum  promised 
by  subscription.  This,  at  the  time,  was  unprecedented. 
It  was  greatly  in  advance  of  the  mother  State  in  which 
the  standing  order  was  continued  to  a  period  within  my 
recollection.  Having  the  power  and  the  law,  they 
voluntarily  waived  their  advantage,  and  took  the  ad- 
ditional expense  and  trouble  upon  themselves.  This  was 
Christianity."* 

It  is  possible  there  were  covenant  relations  entered 
into  and  maintained  during  the  six  years  previous  to  the 
massacre  in  1778,  or  in  other  words,  a  congregational 
church  organized,  but  there  are  no  records  to  that  effect. 
It   is  known,   however,   that  Mr.   Johnson   preached   the 

*Sermon  of  Dr.  Dorrance. 


72  PRESBYTERV    OF    LUZERNE. 

gospel  to  the  people,  visited  the  sick,  baptized  the 
children,  which  implies  that  there  were  professing 
Christians  among  them,  and  it  is  known  that  there  was 
at  least  one  deacon.  The  minister  was  found  using  his 
influence  to  secure  the  most  favorable  terms  for  his 
people  when  the  defenders  of  the  fort  were  obliged  to 
capitulate.  But  the  promises  solemnly  made  were 
disregarded  by  the  Indians,  who  should  have  been 
restrained  by  their  English  officers.  Among  the  mas- 
sacred was  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  John  Dorrance,  Lieut. 
Col.  George  Dorrance.  The  dangers  which  surrounded 
the  colony  were  such  that  all  were  driven  to  the  wilder- 
ness, among  them  the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson.  Their 
recent  homes  were  destroyed,  and  their  cultivated  fields 
became  a  wilderness. 

Some  of  the  refugees,  like  their  fathers,  found  refuge 
among  pious  Hollanders  on  the  Delaware  river ;  others 
were  succored  by  a  noble  hearted  Scotchman,  residing  at 
Stroudsburg,  When  a  remnant  in  their  weakness  returned 
to  claim  their  rights  and  maintain  their  struggles,  restore 
their  homes  and  the  life  of  their  colony,  the  pastor  was 
among  the  number.  The  house  of  worship  which  had 
been  almost  completed  for  public  use  had,  like  their  own 
dwellings,  been  ruthlessly  laid  waste.  It  was  a  long,  long 
time  before  the  beleaguered  inhabitants  attempted  to 
supply  its  place.  For,  when  the  danger  of  the  revolu- 
tionary war  and  Indian  aggressions  passed  away,  the 
question  between  the  claimants  of  proprietary  right  to  the 
soil  was  again  opened  and  proved  a  serious  bar  to 
prosperity  and  Christian  advancement. 

Mr.  Johnson  ceased  from  his  ministerial  work  in 
1795.     He  had  been,  during  his  whole  ministry,  devoted 


PRESBVTERV    OF    LUZERNE.  73 

to  his  work  and  his  people.  The  fact  that  many  years  of 
his  life  had  been  spent  in  missionary  labors  among  the 
Indians,  indicates  his  vital  interest  in  the  gospel  and  the 
highest  good  of  mankind.  Before  he  was  laid  aside,  he 
had  taken  active  measures  to  secure  in  Wilkes-Barre  a 
house  of  worship.  As  early  as  1791,  in  the  town 
meeting,  a  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of 
Zebulon  Butler,  John  Paul  Schott,  Timothy  Pickering, 
Daniel  Gore,  and  Nathan  Waller,  to  select  a  site.  They 
determined  to  locate  it  on  the  Public  Square.  The 
building,  however,  was  not  erected  during  Mr.  Johnson's 
lifetime,  and,  indeed,  not  till  a  good  while  after  his 
death.  At  last  a  part  of  the  means  for  its  completion 
was  raised  by  lottery.  These  facts  would  suggest  that  the 
general  apathy,  if  not  opposition  to  vital  religion,  which 
prevailed  throughout  the  country  immediately  after  the 
revolutionary  war,  induced,  perhaps,  by  French  infidelity, 
may  have  reached  the  Wyoming  Valley.  But  it  is  due  to 
those  engaged  in  providing  a  suitable  sanctuary  for  their 
community,  to  note  the  fact  that  the  committee,  which 
had  at  a  town  meeting  been  duly  appointed  and  the 
action  attested  by  the  clerk,  Arnold  Colt,  provided  for  a 
house  of  fair  proportions,  forty  by  sixty  feet.  From  time 
to  time  the  matter  was  considered,  subscriptions  secured, 
and  finally,  but  not  till  1800,  "it  was  voted  that  the 
moneys  arising  from  the  sale  of  the  Ferry  House  and  the 
use  of  the  Ferry  be  appropriated  toward  building  the 
meeting  house."  This  church  building  was,  of  course, 
designed  for  the  existing  church  which  was  Congre- 
gational, but  it  was  spoken  of  then  and  subsequently  as 
Presbyterian.  Similar  usage  prevailed  in  Connecticut. 
The  original  subscriptions  to  this  building  and  the  names 


74  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

of  subscribers  are  still  extant,  and  show  but  one  name  of 
a  member  of  any  other  than  the  prevailing  denomination, 
that  of  Mr.  Samuel  Rose.  Hence,  while  this  house  of 
worship  was  not  denied  in  after  years  to  other  denomi- 
nations, it  was  not  built  as  a  union  church,  as  has 
sometimes  been  claimed. 

Even  before  the  mortal  remains  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Johnson  rested  in  the  tomb,  which,  in  the  early  part  of 
1797,  he  had  caused  to  be  prepared  for  himself  on  an 
eminence  overlooking  the  town,  from  the  upper  end  of 
what  is  now  Franklin  street,  there  seems  to  have  been 
interrui)tion  in  the  regularity  of  religious  services.  And, 
after  the  death  of  Mr.  Johnson,  which  was  on  March 
15th,  1797,*  the  same  irregularity  seems  to  have 
continued  for  some  years. 

Just  when  the  building  of  the  church  was  so  far 
completed  as  to  be  used  by  the  congregation,  does  not 
seem  to  be  a  matter  of  record.  Dr.  Dorrance,  who  was 
born  1800,  the  year  in  which  the  construction  was  begun 
in  earnest,  tells  us  that  he  remembers  it  as  an  unplastered 
edifice.  This  building  was  subsequently  furnished  with  a 
large  bell,  which  from  181 2  to  1845  regularly  "tolled  the 
curfew  or  knell  of  parting  day,"  reminding  the  people  of 
the  "land  of  steady  habits." 

The  Rev.  Jabez  Chadwick,  a  missionary  of  the 
Connecticut  Society,  ministered  to  the  people  of  the 
Wyoming  Valley  for  some  time,  but  how  long  does  not 
appear.  The  first  extant  record  of  the  congregation, 
however,  seems  to  have  been  made  during  his  term  of 
service,  and  is  described  as  the  first  covenant  signed  by 
the  members  of  the  congregation.       It  bears  the  date  of 

♦According  to  his  prediction,  it  is  said,  as  to  the  time  of  its  occurrence. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  75 

July  30th  and  31st,  1808.  Before  this  time,  it  is 
reasonable  to  believe,  that  the  congregation,  or  at  least 
the  spiritual  part  of  it,  regarded  themselves  as  adhering 
to  the  statements  of  the  Saybrook  Platform,  and  among 
Congregationalists  generally  the  terms  of  subscription  are 
uniformly  the  same  for  ministers  and  private  members  of 
the  church.  Connecticut  Congregationalists  were  not 
unqualified  Independents. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  subscribers  to  the  first 
Covenant  adopted  by  the  church  at  Wilkes-Barre  and 
Kingston,  viz.,  Luke  Swetland,  Wm.  Dickson,  Hugh 
Connor,  Nehemiah  Ide,  Daniel  Hoyt,  Stephen  Hollister, 
John  Gore,  William  Colwell,  Darius  Preston,  Hannah 
Breese,  Wealthy  Smith,  Elizabeth  Sill,  Martha  Blackman, 
Polly  Mulford,  Susanna  Fish,  Naomi  Scott,  Mary  Ide, 
Hannah  Chapman,  Eliezer  Ross,  Niece  Hollister,  Ruth 
Keeler,  Jane  Colwell,  Sarah  Hollenback,  Hannah 
Bradley,  Susanna  Dana,  Joanna  Fish,  Eunice  Sprague. 

"This  covenant  was  signed  in  the  presence  of  Jabez 
Chadwick  and  James  Woodward,  missionaries,"  1803, 
July  30th,  at  church  meeting.  Hugh  Connor,  Nehemiah 
Ide  and  Daniel  Hoyt,  were  chosen  Deacons. 

"Elisha  Blackman,  Anna  Ross,  Margaret  Connor, 
Elizabeth  Jackson  (wife  of  William  Jackson)  were 
accepted  to  be  propounded  to  the  church  to-morrow. 
On  the  31st  these  were  admitted,  together  with  Conrad 
Lines.  The  same  day  I  baptized  Lenora,  child  of  Jabez 
Fish,  Caroline  Anne,  Eliza  Irene,  and  William  Sterling, 
children  of  William  Ross  Sterling,  and  Phoebe  Dalton  on 
account  of  Sarah  Hollenback,  wife  of  Matthias  Hollen- 
back."*    So  attested  the  Rev.  Jabez  Chadwick. 

*Dr.  Dorrance's  Sermon,  1853. 


76  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

The  Rev.  James  W.  Woodward,  a  missionary  of  the 
Connecticut  Society,  was  jjresent  and  participated  in  the 
organization,  or  re-organization,  referred  to  above,  but 
whether  simply  present  for  the  occasion,  or  that  he  S})ent 
some  time  in  missionary  work  in  the  valley,  does  not 
appear.  But  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Porter,  also  from  New 
England,  there  is  more  satisfactory  tradition,  and  of  his 
valuable  labors  in  preaching  the  gospel  in  Wilkes-Barre 
and  vicinity  successfully,  withstanding  the  existence  of 
hurtful  error  and  errorists.  But  the  exact  time  of  his 
labors  does  not  seem  to  have  been  so  definitely  handed 
down.  We  now,  however,  with  the  advent  of  the  Rev. 
Ard  Hoyt  to  Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston,  1806,  take  up 
and  follow  the  official  and  authenticated  record  of  the 
mother  church  in  Wyoming  Valley. 

The  brief  record  given  above,  as  attested  by  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  Chadwick  and  Woodward,  and  handed  to 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Hoyt,  at  his  ordination,  is  the  introduction 
to  the  written  history  of  the  churches  whose  origin, 
association  and  progress  we  are  considering. 

The  Rev.  Ard  Hoyt  had,  in  early  life,  after 
acquiring  his  elementary  education  in  his  native  Con- 
necticut, also  acquired  a  practical  knowledge  of  mechan- 
ical pursuits.  Afterwards,  however,  he  was  led  to  devote 
himself  to  preparing,  in  an  orderly  way,  to  preach  the 
gospel.  His  purpose  to  enter  the  ministry  was  prompted 
by  his  just  appreciation  of  spiritual  and  eternal  things. 
This  preparation  completed  and  approved,  he,  in  August, 
1806,  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  Kingston  church,  probably  by  a  council 
consisting  of  the  Connecticut  missionaries  who  had 
previously    organized    the    church,    and    others.        The 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  77 

Wilkes-Barre  church  was  not  connected  with  the  Susque- 
hanna Association,  and  the  Luzerne  Association  had  not 
been  formed ;  but  when  it  did  come  into  existence  in 
18 10,  the  Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston  church  and  its 
minister  were  members  of  the  same. 

Dr.  Dorrance,  who,  as  a  child,  knew  Mr.  Hoyt,  the 
church  and  community,  and  had  abundant  opportunity, 
as  a  man  and  minister,  to  understand  the  character  and 
value  of  his  work,  .says  of  him  in  his  first  historical 
sermon:  "Few  men  have  exhibited  a  life  so  uniformly 
consistent  with  their  profession.  He  literally  set  his 'face 
like  a  flint  against  sin.  With  him  there  were  no 
compromises  of  duty.  He  was  a  fearless  preacher  of  the 
doctrines  of  grace.  It  was  supposed  by  some  that  he 
rather  erred  in  presenting  too  strongly  to  the  uninstructed 
those  deep  mysteries,  hard  to  be  understood,  which  the 
unlearned  wrest  to  their  own  destruction ;  giving  too 
strong  meat  to  babes." 

"Mr.  Hoyt  labored  incessantly,  extending  his  efforts 
as  a  missionary  through  various  parts  of  the  country. 
The  effect  of  his  labor  was  evident  in  the  edification  of 
the  church.  Its  members  were  thoroughly  instructed  in 
every  good  word  and  work.  There  were  few  spurious 
conversions  under  his  ministry."  While,  from  the 
character  of  his  work,  it  was  not  duly  appreciated  by 
those  who  were  not  spiritual,  the  members  of  his  church 
stood  nobly  by  their  pastor.  Although  the  church  grew 
and  was  edified,  his  support  was  inadequate,  and,  in 
181 7,  he  accepted  an  appointment  to  do  missionary  work 
among  the  Indians,  then  in  Tennessee,  where  he  was 
faithful  and  successful  in  laying  a  good  foundationr  fo 
Christian    work    among    the    Cherokees.       During    his 


78  PRESBVTEKY    OF    LUZERNE. 

pastorate  at  Wilkes-Barre,  85  additions  were  made  to  the 
church;  there  were  34  members  in  1806.  Two  of  Mr. 
Hoyt's  sons  became  ministers  in  the  South.  From  181 7 
to  1 82 1  there  was  no  regular  pastor  over  the  Wilkes-Barre 
and  Kingston  church. 

During  the  vacancy  the  field  seems  to  have  been 
visited  by  the  Rev.  Eliezer  Barrows,  and  the  Rev. 
Hutchins  Taylor,  whether  as  temporary  supplies,  or  as 
evangelists,  does  not  appear.  The  former  of  these 
ministers  was  for  a  time  a  student  in  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  and  at  the  time  of  his  visit  a  teacher  or 
Professor  in  Hamilton  College,  N.  Y.  The  labors  of 
these  ministers  (in  1818)  were  greatly  blessed,  resulting 
in  many  conversions,  especially  in  the  Kingston  part  of 
the  church. 

In  consequence  of  the  revived  interest  west  of  the 
river,  where  the  greater  strength  of  the  church  had 
already  existed  as  to  numbers,  the  Luzerne  Association 
sanctioned  a  separate  organization,  to  consist  of  members 
residing  in  Kingston  or  west  of  the  river,  and  those  who 
had  recently  confessed  Christ.  Therefore  from  this  time, 
1818  or  early  in  1819,  Kingston  congregation  is  known 
as  the  Kingston  Presbyterian  church.  As  the  first 
offshoot  from  Wilkes-Barre,  we  must  deal  with  its  history 
hereafter  as  a  local  organization,  although  for  some  time 
after  this  both  churches  were  served  by  the  same 
ministers.  And  we  continue  the  History  of  Wilkes-Barre 
church  after  its  giving  up  more  than  a  score  of  brethren 
beloved,  who  go  with  the  blessing  of  the  mother,  to 
increase  their  strength  and  usefulness  in  the  exercise 
of  their  individual  powers  and  self-dependence. 

It   has   been   doubtless   found   that   they  helped   the 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  79 

mother  more  by  going  out  than  they  would  have  done  by 
staying  in  the  old  nest,  which  it  had  been  necessary  from 
time  to  time  to  enlarge. 

During  the  vacancy  in  the  pastorate  after  Mr. 
Hoyt's  departure,  unsuccessful  efforts  were  made  for  the 
settlement  of  each  of  the  two  ministers  whose  joint  labors 
had  been  so  productive  of  good,  viz.,  Messrs.  Barrows 
and  Taylor.  The  former  was  the  more  popular  preacher, 
and,  withal,  a  man  of  superior  ability;  the  latter  a 
minister  generally  beloved  because  of  his  devotion  to  his 
work  and  Christlike  spirit.  Services  with  more  or  less 
regularity  were  maintained  till  the  coming  of  the  Rev. 
Cyrus  Gildersleeve,  whose  pastorate  began,  June  15th, 
1 82 1,  both  churches  uniting  in  the  call,  and  he  being 
installed  at  both  places. 

The  Rev.  Cyrus  Gildersleeve  was  born  in  Orange, 
N.  J.,  April  14th,  1768.  His  father,  Ezra,  came  to 
Orange  from  Long  Island,  where  the  family  first  settled 
after  coming  to  the  country,  as  early  as  1700,  from 
Holland.  He  was  graduated  from  Rutgers  College, 
N.  J.,  when  twenty-one  years  old.  He  studied  Theology 
privately  and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery 
of  New  York.  His  first  settlement  was  in  the  Midway 
Congregational  church,  Liberty  county,  Georgia,  where 
he  remained  for  nineteen  years.  On  his  return  from 
Georgia,  he  was  called  to  the  first  church  of  Bloomfield, 
where  he  was  pastor  for  six  years.  From  Bloomfield  he 
was  called  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  was  pastor  for  eight 
years,  and  where  his  work  was  largely  missionary. 

His  name  and  zeal  come  to  view  in  the  history 
of  quite  a  number  of  churches  which  he  was  not 
permitted  to  see  in  his  day  possessed  of  organic  life,  but 


80  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

which  came  afterward  from  seed  he  had  sown,  or,  at 
least,  frequently  watered.  These  churches  have  emerged 
into  life  and  usefulness  at  ])oints  comparatively  remote 
from  his  home,  and  remote  from  each  other.  Nor  does 
the  missionary  zeal  of  Mr.  Gildersleeve  in  caring  for 
regions  beyond  the  immediate  vicinity  of  his  home 
churches  seem  to  have  hindered  their  proper  cultivation 
and  growth.  His  ability  as  a  preacher,  his  intellectual 
attainments  and  devotion  to  his  work,  were  fruitful 
both  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston.  The  second 
year  of  his  pastorate,  Wilkes-Barre  church  enjoyed  a 
season  of  refreshing.  Thirty  were  added  to  the  church 
on  profession  of  their  faith.  There  was  also  at  the  same 
time  a  considerable  accession  to  the  Kingston  church. 
Mr.  Gildersleeve  ceased  to  have  charge  of  Kingston  from 
1826,  and  that  church  was  supplied  by  the  Rev.  Joseph 
M.  Ogden  from  Dec.  26  to  June  28.  He  was  born  at 
Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton 
College  and  Seminary,  and  ordained  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Elizabethtown.  He  was,  subsequently,  long  the 
honored  pastor  of  Chatham  church,  N.  J.,  where  he  died 
Feb.  18,  1884.  His  Alma  Mater  had  honored  him  in 
i860  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

During  the  last  year  of  Mr.  Gildersleeve' s  pastorate 
at  Kingston,  a  revival  of  great  power  was  enjoyed  in  the 
Wilkes-Barre  church.  On  this  occasion  he  was  greatly 
assisted  by  Mr.  James  Wood,  then  a  licentiate  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  who  subsequently 
occupied  high  places  in  the  church  and  wielded  powerful 
influence  for  good,  as  a  minister  and  teacher. 

While  the  revival  of  1826  was  more  extended,  and 
the    number   of   professed    conversions    greater    than    in 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  8 1 

1822,  the  fruits  do  not  appear  to  have  been  as  lasting, 
especially  in  the  remoter  communities  affected,  as  in 
Hanover  and  Newport. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Gildersleeve,  the  con- 
gregation at  Wilkes-Barre  became  much  more  interested 
in  missionary  work  and  in  sustaining  by  their  contribu- 
tions the  organized  operations  which  aimed  to  give  the 
Bible  a  wider  circulation  and  extend  Sabbath  School 
work  among  the  destitute,  through  the  agency  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  and  the  American  Sabbath 
School  Union.  Members  of  this  church  are  found 
planting  Sabbath  Schools  at  various  points,  distant  from 
home,  but  where  the  pastor  preached  from  time  to  time. 
Mr.  Gildersleeve' s  ministry  lasted  eight  years,  during 
which  time  129  were  added  to  the  church,  95  of  the 
number  on  confession  of  Christ.  The  church  seems, 
under  his  ministry,  to  have  grown  in  all  directions. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Gildersleeve  came  to  Wilkes-Barre 
and  became  a  member  of  the  Luzerne  Association  its 
name  was  changed  to  that  of  Susquehanna  Presbytery, 
and  it  became  a  constituent  part  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  came  under  the 
immediate  care  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey. 

It  was  under  Mr.  Gildersleeve's  ministry  that  Dr. 
Joseph  H.  Jones,  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  then  residing 
with  his  parents  and  teaching  at  Wilkes-Barre  Academy, 
resolved  to  enter  upon  a  course  of  study  for  the  ministry, 
which  he  prosecuted  for  a  time  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Gildersleeve,  and  was  licensed  by  the  Susquehanna 
Presbytery,  before  entering  Princeton  Seminary. 

After  relinquishing  his  pastoral  charge,  Mr.  Gilder- 


82  PRESBYTERY    OV    LUZERNE. 

sleeve  spent  some  time  as  a  missionary  in  Hanover  and 
Plymouth,  and  then  returned  to  New  Jersey,  where  he 
died  soon  after,  leaving  his  work  to  follow  him. 

In  the  spring  of  1829,  there  came  to  Wyoming 
Valley  as  a  missionary  a  young  man  who  had  completed 
the  course  of  study  in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 
He  was  sent  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions.  His  destination  had  been  chosen  upon  the 
recommendation  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  M.  Engles,  of 
Philadeli)hia.  The  young  man  was  a  native  of  the  Green 
Isle,  the  son  of  Catholic  parents.  His  father  had  died 
while  he  was  an  infant,  and  he  had  come  to  America 
when  yet  a  boy;  but,  possessed  of  energy,  self-reliance 
and  native  ability,  he  soon  found  employment  as  proof 
reader,  in  the  famous  publishing  house  of  The  Harpers, 
New  York  City.  This  employment,  upon  which  he 
entered,  indicates  that  his  early  education  had  not  been 
neglected,  and  indeed,  his  family  was  one  that  was  able 
to  appreciate  the  value  of  early  culture,  and  to  provide 
for  it.  While  thus  employed  with  the  Harpers,  an 
associate  gave  him  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  the 
reading  of  which  led  him  to  question  his  traditional  faith 
and  renounce  Romanism.  Then  he  was,  for  a  time 
skeptical.  While  he  yet  cherished  infidel  sentiments, 
some  young  men  of  his  acquaintance,  students  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  M.  Mason,  induced  him  to  hear  Dr. 
Mason  preach.  The  sermon  made  so  deep  an  impression 
on  his  mind  that  he  returned  to  his  lodgings  to  resume 
the  reading  of  his  Testament,  for  instruction  to  enable 
him  to  lead  a  new  life.  By  some  means  he  was  directed 
to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Spring  for  further  personal  instruction, 
which,    in    the    course    of    time,    resulted    in    a    public 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  83 

confession  of  his  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  his 
Saviour. 

His  exemplary  Christian  life  attracted  the  attention 
of  friends,  and  led  to  offers  on  their  part  to  provide  him 
the  means  of  securing  an  education  for  the  gospel 
ministry.  This  proposal,  after  due  and  prayerful 
consideration,  was  accepted,  and  Nicholas  Murray 
entered  upon  a  course  of  study  for  the  ministry,  which 
was  prosecuted  at  Amherst  Academy,  Williams  College 
and  Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  After  preaching  a 
few  months  to  the  church  made  vacant  by  the  resignation 
of  Mr.  Gildersleeve,  Mr.  Murray  was  formally  called  to 
the  pastorate  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  that  of  the  Kingston  church,  which  had  also 
become  vacant.  Accepting  this  call,  he  was  ordained 
and  formally  installed,  Oct.,  1829,  over  both  congrega- 
tions, which  charge  he  retained  till  July,  1833,  when  he 
accepted  a  flattering  call  to  the  First  church  of 
Elizabethtown,  N.  J. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Murray,  in  his  first  pastorate,  found 
sufficient  to  enlist  his  vigorous  energies  and  develop 
his  superior  talents.  The  character,  wants  and  pro- 
spective importance  of  his  field,  the  inspiring  beauty 
of  the  scenery  by  which  he  was  surrounded,  together 
with  the  significance  of  his  work,  in  itself  considered, 
all  conspired  in  their  appeal  for  the  best  of  effort  on  his 
part.  Nor  do  they  seem  to  have  called  in  vain.  Dr. 
Murray's  brief  pastorate  in  Wyoming  Valley  laid  the 
foundations  of  his  subsequent  career  of  usefulness  and 
influence  in  the  church  of  his  choice. 

Und^  the  ministry  of  Dr.  Murray,  many  were 
added    to    the    church    at    Wilkes-Barre.        Seasons    of 


84  PRESBYTERY    Oh"    LUZERNE. 

spiritual  refreshing  were  enjoyed.  The  government  of 
the  local  church  was,  at  his  suggestion,  modified  and 
made  to  conform  to  the  Presbyterian  constitution. 
Messrs.  Henry  C.  Anhauser,  William  C.  Gildersleeve 
(son  of  the  late  pastor),  and  Orestus  Collins  were  elected 
and  installed  ruling  elders.  A  more  commodious  and 
attractive  house  of  worship  was  jjrojected,  and  almost 
completed,  when  the  young  pastor  was  called  to  other 
duties  more  numerous  and  varied. 

While  the  work  of  consolidation  and  enlargement 
was  going  forward,  during  the  four  years  of  Dr.  Murray's 
ministry,  in  the  centre  of  his  field,  the  remoter  parts 
of  the  extended  theatre  of  operations  covered  by  pastors 
Hoyt  and  Gildersleeve  could  not  receive  the  attention 
that  these  brethren  had  bestowed  on  them,  and  therefore 
suffered  some  measure  of  decline ;  but  the  Chief  Shepherd 
had  in  the  meantime  a  man  in  training  to  follow  the 
successful  pastor  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston,  whose 
birth,  education,  affiliations  and  spiritual  endowments 
fitted  him  not  only  to  conserve  the  advantages  already 
gained,  in  the  spiritual  conquests  made  in  the  centers  of 
vigorous  operations,  but  to  extend  the  circumference  and 
maintain  the  conquest  within  and  beyond  the  large  area. 
Of  him  we  have  already  written,  but  we  are  called  to 
chronicle  the  fact  that  he  is  about  to  be  called  home,  and 
become  a  notable  exception  to  the  proverb :  "a  prophet 
is  not  without  honor,  save  in  his  own  country  and  in  his 
own  house."  That  man  was  John  Dorrance  who,  with 
Richard  Webster,  was  soon  to  establish  a  new  Presbytery, 
and  make  it  a  model. 

The  ninth  of  August,  1833,  witnessed  the  installation 
of  the  Rev.  John  Dorrance  as  pastor  of  the  church  in 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  8$ 

which  he  had  been  born  33  years  before,  and  the 
dedication  of  a  new  house  of  worship,  upon  the  same 
day. 

The  first  generation  of  members  of  the  church  had 
passed  off  the  stage  of  action,  with  but  two  exceptions; 
one  of  these,  Mrs.  Eliza  Dyer,  still  in  the  church,  and 
Mr.  Elisha  Blackman,  who  had  adopted  the  theories  of 
Emanuel  Swedenborg. 

In  the  person  of  the  new  pastor,  however,  and  in  the 
erection  of  a  new  and  enlarged  sanctuary,  both  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  original  church  organism,  and  in  the  fact 
that  those  who  now  constituted  the  body  corporate  and 
were  found  acting  for  its  preservation  and  enlargement 
were  able  to  lay  their  hands  on  one  of  the  sons  of  the 
church,  to  place  him  on  their  watch-tower  and  make  him 
their  overseer,  evidence  is  afforded  of  the  continued  life, 
growth  and  vigor  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church.  It  was, 
too,  an  expression  of  confidence  in  the  new  pastor  and  of 
honor  bestowed  upon  him  which  could  never  be  excelled. 
The  sequel  proves  that  all  was  wisely  done  and  never 
regretted. 

The  settlement  of  Dr.  Dorrance  at  Wilkes-Barre 
preceded  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Webster  at  Mauch  Chunk 
by  two  years,  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne,  as  afterwards  fixed.  Occupying  as  they  did  the 
radiating  points  of  the  Presbytery,  they  entered  their 
respective  fields  under  widely  different  circumstances,  for 
which  their  individual  character  and  attainments  adapted 
them  respectively.  They  supplied  what  was  needed  in 
both  cases. 

The  work  to  which  Mr.  Webster  came,  in  1835,  was 
strictly   initiative.      None   had   been    before   him.      No 


86  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE, 

foundation  had  been  laid  upon  which  he  could  build. 
His  devotion  to  the  Master,  his  love  of  souls,  his  clear 
conception  of  what  the  gospel  means,  with  reference  to 
God  and  with  reference  to  man,  as  well  as  with  reference 
to  the  security  and  prosperity  of  our  country  and  her 
institutions,  made  him  a  home  missionary  and  a  wise 
foundation  builder,  such  as  the  writer  has  never  seen 
excelled  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans. 

Dr.  Dorrance  had  come  into  another  centre  of  light 
and  growth,  in  the  prospective  Presbytery,  as  a  pastor, 
two  years  before  Mr.  Webster  (1833).  He  brought  a  good 
measure  of  experience  with  him.  He  found  that  the 
work  to  which  he  was  called  had  already  assumed  fair 
proportions  and  extended  compass,  within  which  some 
material  had  been  partially  prepared,  to  go  into  the  new 
and  additional  foundations  which  must  be  laid  under  his 
supervision,  or  by  his  personal  labor.  With  his  con- 
stitutional endowments  for  leadership ;  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  field,  its  wants  and  difficulties  and 
materials  for  building;  with  like  just  conceptions  of  the 
importance  of  the  work  he  was  undertaking,  and  what 
success  meant  with  reference  to  God  and  humanity,  Dr. 
Dorrance  entered  his  part  of  the  field  with  some  advan- 
tages over  Mr.  Webster ;  but  wherein  they  presented 
personal  peculiarities,  these  were  always  found  to  increase 
the  aggregate  force  in  their  co-operation  in  any  good 
work.  Neither  of  them  was  ever  known  to  manifest 
selfishness,  or  personal  ambition.  To  what  extent  their 
example,  in  this  respect,  gave  character  to  the  Presbytery 
they  projected,  we  cannot  determine;  but  certain  it  is, 
that,  as  a  Presbytery,  Luzerne  was  remarkably  free  from 
the  above  indicated  objectionable  exhibitions,  which  were 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  8/ 

conspicuous  in  both  Webster  and  Dorrance  by  their 
absence. 

When  Dr.  Dorrance  assumed  the  pastoral  charge  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  congregation,  there  were  126  members 
in  that  church.  The  organization  of  the  Kingston 
Church  was  the  first  off-shoot  from  that  original  body, 
but  no  further  division  had  been  made  up  to  this  time, 
unless  Northmoreland  church  be  regarded  as  an  ofif-spring 
of  the  Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston  churches,  in  1821. 
But  the  new  pastor  is  found  extending  his  attention  to 
points  which  recently  had  not  been  especially  fostered, 
with  a  view  of  preparing  them  for  separate  organizations ; 
also  visiting  and  preaching  to  other  communities  that  had 
before  received  no  attention,  all  along  the  Susquehanna 
northward  to  Tunkhannock  and  down  the  same  river  to 
Newport  and  Hanover,  and  up  the  valley  of  the 
Lackawanna  to  points  beyond  that  on  which  the  young 
and  vigorous  city  of  Scranton  now  stands.  This  work 
involved  many  lonesome,  toilsome  rides.  These,  how- 
ever, brought  the  zealous  pastor  to  the  scattered  members 
of  his  own  church  and  secured  to  him  the  opportunity 
and  privilege  of  preaching  the  gospel  in  these  sparsely 
settled  places  to  many  who,  without  this  toil  on  his  part, 
would  never  have  heard  the  public  proclamation  of  the 
glad  tidings  of  grace.  Thus  foundation  work  was  done, 
year  after  year,  in  these  outposts. 

The  first  organization  within  the  limits  of  Dr. 
Dorrance' s  extended  field  was  perhaps  that  of  Falls 
Township,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Susquehanna.  The 
name  of  the  church  was  subsequently  changed  to  that  of 
the  Newton  Presbyterian  church.  It  was  organized  by  a 
committee  of  the  Susquehanna  Presbytery,  consisting  of 


88  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

the  Rev.  John  Rhodes  and  Rev.  Dr.  Dorrance,  October 
29th,  1833.  So  far  as  can  be  learned  none  of  the 
members  came  from  the  Wilkes-Barre  church. 

Again  on  Deceml)er  29th,  1833,  another  organiza- 
tion was  effected  at  Tunkhannock,  which  was  the 
outgrowth  of  aggressive  Christian  effort  made  by  Merrit 
Slocum,  a  young  Presbyterian  layman  from  Wilkes-Barre 
church,  who  had  removed  to  Tunkhannock  in  1831, 
where,  by  Sabbath  school  and  other  evangelistic  work, 
which  was  followed  by  visits  from  Dr.  Dorrance  and 
missionary  labors  of  the  Rev.  George  Printz  and  Isaac 
Todd,  he  was  the  means  of  preparing  the  way  for 
establishing  a  Presbyterian  church,  under  the  care  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Susquehanna.  The  organization  at  Tunk- 
•  hannock  took  twenty-five  members  from  Wilkes-Barre. 
After  these  new  organizations  were  effected,  considerable 
time  elapsed  before  any  more  of  the  outposts  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  pastor  became  churches ;  but  Sabbath 
schools  were  maintained,  largely  by  the  members  of 
the  old  church,  at  those  outstations,  and  from  time  to 
time  planted  at  new  points.  These  schools,  or  many  of 
them,  were  the  forerunners  of  Presbyterian  or  other  evan- 
gelical churches,  in  whose  history  must  be  seen  the  labors 
of  the  pious  members  and  pastor  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
church.  These  labors  of  love  have  been  attended  by 
results,  as  we  now  see  them,  which,  doubtless,  are  vaster 
than  the  faith  of  the  workers  then  painted  them. 

Dr.  Dorrance  believed  in  using  special  evangelistic 
efforts  in  the  home  church  and  in  the  outposts.  The 
immediate  cause  of  the  organization  at  Falls  and  at 
Tunkhannock  was  special  and  protracted  meetings,  led 
by  him,  assisted  by  new  ministers  and  licentiates.  These 
proved  to  be  seasons  of  ingathering. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  89 

In  the  Wilkes-Barre  church,  the  year  1836  witnessed 
for  it  a  season  of  great  refreshing.  During  the  year  1839, 
another  followed,  with  greater  visible  results.  In  the 
services  on  this  occasion  the  pastor  was  greatly  aided  in 
his  work  by  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Baker, 
whose  labors  were  subsequently  so  richly  blessed,  espec- 
ially in  the  South  and  Southwest,  not  only  in  ''winning 
souls  ' '  to  Christ,  but  also  in  building  up  the  institutions 
of  the  church.  His  brother,  John  O.  Baker,  was  for  a 
long  time  a  member,  an  elder,  and  a  pillar  in  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  church,  greatly  beloved.  Two  of  his  sons  went  out 
from  this  church  as  ministers  of  marked  ability  and 
devotion.  As  the  fruit  of  this  revival,  50  confessed 
Christ  and  united  with  the  church.  In  1843,  a  like 
number  enrolled  themselves,  as  the  avowed  followers  of 
Christ.  Other  seasons  of  quickening  of  Christian  zeal 
were  from  time  to  time  enjoyed  during  the  twenty-seven 
years  of  Dr.  Dorrance's  pastorate.  He  states  to  his 
congregation,  at  the  end  of  twenty  years,  that  there  had 
been  received  into  the  church  340;  217  on  profession, 
and  123  by  letter  from  other  churches.  At  that  time, 
the  entire  debt  on  the  church  building,  which  was 
dedicated  on  the  day  of  his  installation,  had  been  paid, 
a  new  and  spacious  brick  house  of  worship,  costing  some 
$14,000,  had  been  erected  and  paid  for,  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  sum,  about  equal  to  that  which  was 
cancelled  on  the  old  building  when  the  new  enterprise 
was  projected,  and  which  caused  no  uneasiness.  At  this 
time  the  congregation  was  giving  about  $250  annually  to 
missions,  in  addition  to  special  causes  and  local  opera- 
tions, which  it  was  supposed  (by  the  pastor  in  1853) 
would  amount  to  from  58,000  to  $10,000,  in  the  aggregate. 


90  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

Much  thoughtful  interest  was  taken  on  the  part  of 
Dr.  Dorrance,  and  his  church,  in  the  welfare,  spiritual 
and  material,  of  missionary  points,  and  organizations 
throughout  the  Presbytery.  His  wise  counsel  to  the 
younger  ministers  and  feeble  congregations  was  of 
inestimable  value  to  them.  It  was  always  freely  given  ; 
but  never  in  a  patronizing  spirit.  His  comprehensive 
grasp  of  the  situation  enabled  him  so  to  present  his  advice 
that  it  was  felt  in  all  cases  to  be  good  and  profitable. 
Thus,  in  his  quiet  and  unassuming  way,  he  could  easily 
control  men  and  movements.  With  regard  to  the  latter, 
especially  when  they  were  within  the  bounds  of  his  own 
Presbytery,  he  was  not  dependent  on  others  for  his 
knowledge  of  their  inception,  progress,  feasibility  and 
importance,  or  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  accom- 
plishment. 

While  the  interest  of  Dr.  Dorrance  in  the  movements 
of  the  church  of  Christ  was  always  primary,  he  was  never 
found  ignorant  of  or  indifferent  toward  any  movement 
pertaining  to  the  good  of  humanity,  intellectually, 
morally,  or  socially.  During  the  later  years  of  his  life  he 
was  intensely  interested  in  the  questions  which  culminated 
in  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  He  had  imbibed  the 
sentiments  and  spirit  of  his  ancestors,  whom  he  himself, 
in  speaking  of  the  influence  of  the  fathers  of  the  nation, 
characterizes  as  follows  :  * 

"  Trace  them  back  through  the  Pilgrims  to  the  days 
of  the  Commonwealth  and  old  Cromwell,  or,  through  the 
Scotch-Irish,  to  Knox ;  and  both  to  Geneva  and  the 
Scriptural  doctrine  and  discipline  which  Calvin  taught, 
there  was  inculcated  the  immediate  responsibility  of  man 

*Auniversary  sermon  preached  in  1853. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  9I 

to  God,  His  sovereignty  and  the  barrenness  of  kingly  or 
priestly  power.  There  they  saw  'a  church  without  a 
Bishop  and  a  State  without  a  king.  '  The  principles,  not 
of  Calvin,  but  of  Calvin's  Master,  taught  by  that  great 
man,  are  essentially  those  which  lie  at  the  foundation  ^f 
all  lasting  good,  of  every  real  substantial  reform.  The 
constitutional  liberty  of  the  British  empire  is  owing  to 
the  working  of  these  principles,  in  England  and  Scotland. 
These  wrought  out  our  American  independence.  Where 
these  are  lacking,  there  is  no  solid  and  lasting  freedom." 
*  *  ^  ^  "Just  so  far  as  the  principles  of  our  fathers 
have  been  preserved  is  our  community  in  advance  of 
other  portions  of  the  land.  " 

Before  the  erection  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne, 
an  additional  church  was  organized  for  the  valley 
of  the  Lackawanna ;  most  of  its  members  had  been 
enrolled  as  communicants  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church 
and  its  pastor  had,  with  more  or  less  regularity,  min- 
istered to  them  at  various  places  in  the  valley  ;  especially 
had  Dr.  Dorrance  given  attention  to  that  part  of  his 
extended  field.  These  labors  of  the  pastor  were 
supplemented  by  the  ministrations  of  others  whom  he  had 
introduced  into  this  and  remoter  parts  of  his  field ; 
among  whom  we  find  the  names  of  Rev.  Thomas  Owen, 
subsequently  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Long  Island. 
John  Turbitt,  also  a  student  of  Princeton  Seminary, 
afterwards  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Allegheny ; 
Charles  Alexander  Evans,  like  Mr.  Turbitt  from  Ireland 
and  a  student  of  Belfast  College  and  Princeton  Seminary  ; 
he  received  ordination  at  the  hands  of  the  new 
Presbytery,  according  to  the  action  of  the  General 
Assemby  constituting  said  Presbytery,  and  became  pastor 


92  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

of  one  of  its  churches  ;   also  Rev.   Owen  Brown  whose 
subsequent  ministry  is  not  known  to  the  writer. 

In  addition  to  these,  who  were  mostly  young  men, 
the  Rev.  Thomas  P.  Hunt  did  much  valuable  service,  not 
only  in  Lackawanna  valley,  but  in  almost  every  congre- 
gation and  mission  field  of  the  Presbytery,  much  of  it  at 
his  own  charges.  He  became  a  member  of  the  new 
Presbytery,  and  we  shall  have  much  to  say  of  him. 

In  the  fall  of  1842,  the  Susquehanna  Presbytery 
appointed  a  committee  to  visit  the  Lackawanna  valley 
with  power  to  constitute  a  new  church  organization.  Of 
the  committee  appointed,  the  Rev.  John  Dorrance,  Rev. 
Thomas  P.  Hunt,  and  Rev.  Owen  Brown  met  Feb.  25, 
1842,  in  the  then  village  of  Harrison,  previously  called 
Slocum  Hollow,  and  subsequently  Scrantonia,  and  finally 
Scranton,  under  which  name  the  village  has  become  a 
city  the  fourth  in  order  in  the  great  state  of  Pennsylvania. 
They  found  the  way  clear,  and  organized  the  Lackawanna 
Presbyterian  church,  with  territory  embracing  the  entire 
valley  south  of  Carbondale  congregation,  which  had  been 
organized  as  early  as  1829  by  the  Presbytery  of  Susque- 
hanna. Montrose  Presbytery,  in  1832,  had  been  erected 
from  a  part  of  Luzerne. 

This  provision  for  giving  local  organization  and 
church  life  to  so  large  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  church  relieved  its  pastor  of  much  personal 
labor.  He,  however,  found  abundant  opportunity  to 
call  forth  all  his  energies  and  exhaust  his  time  and 
strength  nearer  home.  Work  had  been  done  by  the 
Rev.  Cyrus  Gildersleeve  at  Coalville,  and  his  son,  Mr. 
William  C.  Gildersleeve,  and  others  had  long  maintained 
a  Sabbath  School  in  that  place.       Mr.  Dorrance  fostered 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  93 

Christian  efforts  there,  maintaining  regular  preaching. 
In  1844,  a  house  of  worship  was  completed.  From  that 
time  onward  the  coal  trade  continued  to  increase,  and 
with  it  the  population  of  Coalville  and  vicinity. 

The  Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  from  the  beginning 
closely  allied  with  the  Presbyterian  church,  whose  pastor 
was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  continuously,  was 
an  agency  of  no  small  importance  in  promoting  the  best 
interests  of  the  community.  This  institution  always 
shared  largely  in  Dr.  Dorrance's  labors.  The  people  of 
the  town  were  justly  proud  of  it.  In  it  many  of  its 
leading  citizens  were  educated,  as  well  as  others  who  had 
gone  out  from  it  to  occupy  places  of  honor  and 
responsibility;  such  men  as  Hendnck  B.  Wright,  B.  A. 
Bidlack,  George  W.  Woodward,  Luther  Kidder  and  Ovid 
F.  Johnson  and  others, —  men  eminent  in  the  legal 
profession;  also  Dr.  S.  D.  Gross,  late  of  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  Philadelphia ;  Samuel  Bowman,  Bishop 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  Episcopal  church  ;  Zebulon  Butler 
and  John  Dorrance,  Bishops  in  the  Presbyterian  church  ; 
Prof.  J.  S.  White  and  George  Catlin,  artist. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Hoyt,  there  were  two 
students  under  his  charge  for  the  ministry;  one  of  them 
named  Nelson,  died;  the  other,  a  Mr.  Chamberlain, 
became  a  missionary  to  the  Cherokee  Indians.  These 
young  men,  however,  had  come  from  other  congregations. 
Under  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Gildersleeve,  the  candidates 
for  the  ministry  were,  Joseph  H.  Jones,  Zebulon  Butler 
and  John  Dorrance;  and  during  Dr.  Murray's  pastorate, 
John  Waters,  Edwin  Rinehart,  S.  P.  Helme  and  Prof. 
John  S.  Hart ;  when  Dr.  Dorrance  was  in  charge  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  church,  John  W.   Sterling,   H.  H,  Welles, 


94  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

Alexander  Dilley,  John  Brown,  Henry  Rinker,  John  F. 
Baker,  Charles  J.  Collins,  William  E.  Baker,  B.  C. 
Dorrance,  Evan  Evans,  and  Theodore  Byington,  a 
foreign  Missionary.  Nearly  all  the  above  list  were 
students  in  the  old  Academy,  and  several  of  them  were 
accorded  the  first  honors  in  the  College  from  which  they 
subsequently  graduated.  It  is  no  doubt  a  matter  of  regret 
to  many,  that  the  distinguished  Academy  has  ceased  to 
send  forth  such  men,  or  any  men,  for  that  matter.  But 
the  class  of  men  furnished  by  such  institutions  has  given 
our  land  the  noble  public  school  system,  which,  while  it 
has  some  dangers,  is  of  inestimable  value  to  the  country. 
The  eye  of  the  Christian  patriot  should  be  on  it. 

Our  space  does  not  allow  us  to  speak  of  the  teachers 
of  the  old  Academy,  many  of  w^hom  became  distinguished 
names,  conspicuous  in  the  list  are  Judge  Joel,  Rev.  Dr.  J. 
H.  Jones  and  the  Rev.  John  W.  Sterling,  D.  D. 

The  Wilkes-Barre  Female  Institute,  projected  by  Dr. 
Dorrance,  nobly  seconded  by  Judge  Hollenback  and  the 
church,  was  undertaken  in  1854.  A  suitable  building 
and  appliances,  costing  $12,000  were  secured  in  a 
delightful  part  of  the  city.  Designed  for  the  wants  of 
young  ladies  outside  of  the  immediate  community  as  well 
as  Wiikes-Barre,  it  was  made  a  Presbyterial  Institute,  and 
the  following  was  the  first  Board  of  Trustees,  viz.,  George 
M.  Hollenback,  Alexander  Gray,  Harrison  Wright,  Ario 
Pardee,  Samuel  Wadhams,  John  Brown,  John  Urquhart, 
Henry  M.  Fuller,  Elisha  B.  Harvey,  William  R.  Glenn, 
John  Faser,  Andrew  T.  McClintock  and  Rev.  John 
Dorrance,  ex  officio. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  E.  Nassau  was  the  first  principal, 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Collins,   and  his  successor 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  95 

was  Rev.  W.  S.  Parsons  who  continued  in  charge  of 
the  institution  till  1872.  Good  work  was  done  in  the 
school,  but  its  patronage  was  principally  from  the 
immediate  vicinity. 

Dr.  Dorrance  was  greatly  interested  in  the  enterprise, 
but  being  called  to  his  reward  in  1861,  his  valuable 
support  was  lost,  nor  does  it  appear  that  any  one  came 
forward  to  fill  his  place.  The  great  improvement  in  the 
State  schools,  with  the  graded  system  in  the  towns,  has 
made  it  much  more  difficult  to  maintain  individual  or 
church  schools,  unless  they  had  already  secured  ample 
endowments. 

Dr.  Dorrance  was  a  friend  of  progress,  but  would 
not  relinquish  that  which  he  was  assured  was  true  and 
excellent,  because  proved  to  be  so,  for  that  Avhich  had 
failed  to  present  a  superior  record.  He  has  left  the 
following  testimony  with  regard  to  the  mothers  of  the 
past  generation,  uttered  1858  :  "From  all  our  observation 
has  noticed,  the  mothers  of  the  present  generation  are 
not  likely  to  be  eclipsed,  in  any  of  the  substantial 
elements  of  female  character  and  true  womanly  accom- 
plishments, by  any  thing  which  modern  systems  have 
bestowed  on  their  daughters." 

The  succession  in  the  eldership  in  the  Wilkes-Barre 
church  does  not  antedate  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Dorrance. 
Under  the  ministry  of  Dr.  Murray,  the  regular  Presby- 
terian induction  of  that  class  of  officials  was  inaugurated, 
and  according  to  the  law  of  the  church  at  that  time,  they 
were  made  elders  for  life  or  good  behavior.  The  three 
good  men  elected  at  the  first  were  still  in  office  and.  long 
continued  to  do  good  service,  but,  in  the  course  of  time, 
death  terminated  the  career  of  some,  and  the  removal  or 


96  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

resignation  of  others,  made  it  necessary  to  fill  their 
places.  The  growth  of  the  church,  too,  made  it  desirable 
to  increase  the  original  number  of  elders  from  time  to 
time. 

Of  the  original  elders,  and  of  those  who  subsequently 
filled  that  office,  and  were  thus  intimately  associated  with 
the  pastor  in  the  session  but  had  been  removed  by  death 
or  had  removed  from  the  bounds  of  the  congregation, 
Dr.  Dorrance  says,  some  three  years  before  his  own 
departure:  "The  elders  of  the  church,  when  ray  ministry 
commenced  here,  were  O.  Collins,  W.  C.  Gildersleeve, 
H.  C.  Anhauser,  of  whom  but  one,  the  last  named,  has 
been  taken  to  his  reward.  His  integrity  of  character, 
simple-hearted  piety,  his  gentle  and  reverend  demeanor 
and  accent,  which  told  of  'Fader  Land,'  are  still  fresh  in 
the  mind  of  many  among  us.  The  other  two  still  remain 
we  hope  for  continued  and  greater  usefulness.  But  while 
thus  sparing  of  the  original  members  of  the  session, 
Death  has  been  active  among  those  subsequently  added. 
Asher  Miner,  distinguished  for  his  suavity  and  propriety ; 
Beryn  C.  Philips,  the  young,  ardent  and  yet  consistent 
brother,  and  John  O.  Baker,  the  godly  man,  the  firm 
and  intelligent  rock  in  the  house  of  God,  meet  with  us 
no  more  on  earth.  Fell  and  Grier  have  united  with 
other  congregations."  The  former  of  these  brethren, 
the  writer  knew  intimately  and  favorably  for  many  years 
after  his  removal  from  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the  latter,  Mr. 
John  C.  Grier,  he  met  in  a  distant  western  city,  and 
found  him  doing  excellent  Christian  service  where  it  was 
needed  and  where  he  was  honored  for  his  work  and 
Christian  spirit.  Calvin  Parsons,  Nathaniel  Rutter,  A. 
T.  McClintock,  were  also  members  of  the  session  during 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  97 

the  ministry  of  Dr.  Dorrance  and  the  existence  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne;  also  or  subsequently  J.  W, 
Hollenback,  Douglass  Smith,  Dickson  Lewers,  and 
George  Loveland.  Surely  the  Wilkes-Barre  church  has 
been  highly  favored  in  having  such  men  in  charge  of  its 
spiritual  interests,  through  its  entire  history. 

The  religious  instruction  of  the  young,  from  the 
early  settlement  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was  regarded  as  a 
matter  that  should  be  carefully  looked  after,  not  only  by 
parents,  but  by  the  church  as  well.  Arrangements  were 
made  for  the  officers  of  the  church  to  meet  the  young 
frequently,  on  week  days,  the  first  Tuesday  of  each  month, 
in  agreement  with  a  recommendation  of  "the  Assembly," 
for  examinations  in  the  Catechism  and  personal 
Christian  duties.  When  Sabbath  Schools,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  century,  began  to  attract  the  attention  of 
Christian  people,  the  first  elders  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
church  were  among  the  most  forward  in  attention  to  the 
matter ;  especially  Messrs.  Collins  and  Gildersleeve. 

The  original  schools  were  generally  started  on  the 
union  principle,  and  most  frequently,  within  the  territory 
covered  by  the  Luzerne  Presbytery,  their  inception  and 
early  management  came  from  the  Calvinistic  element  of 
society,  and  that  class  of  friends  to  Sabbath  Schools  seem 
to  have  stood  by  the  union  principle  until  they  found 
themselves  alone  in  the  management  of  the  local 
institution,  and  then,  but  not  till  then  as  a  general  thing, 
the  school  was  moved  into  the  denominational  church. 
The  same  animus  may  be  recognized  in  the  proportion 
of  aid  received  from  the  same  class  by  such  union 
institutions  as  the  American  Tract  Society,  the  American 
Bible  Society,  and  the  American  Sabbath  School  Union. 


98  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

Such  a  course  has  been  and  is  regarded  by  most  as 
indicative  of  a  true  catholic  spirit,  and  by  some  as 
proving  that  Charles  II.  of  England  was  right  in  calling 
Presbyterians  "The  Lord's  silly  people." 

When  the  Sunday  School  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church 
became  a  denominational  school,  we  find  the  same  men 
and  women  in  its  management.  The  elders  were 
generally  the  superintendents.  Judge  Collins  and  Mr. 
Gildersleeve  rendered  a  life-long  service  in  the  cause  in 
the  parent  church  and  in  its  various  missions.  Mr.  J. 
M.  Burtis  succeeded  Mr.  Gildersleeve  in  the  home 
school ;  then  John  O.  Baker,  Dickinson,  J.  C.  Grier, 
Wurtz,  Nathaniel  Rutter,  A.  T.  McClintock,  W.  S. 
Parsons.  These  names  indicate,  to  such  as  know  the 
persons  who  bear  them,  the  fact  that  the  Sabbath  School 
cause  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  church  was  never,  during  the 
period  covered  by  the  history  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery, 
entrusted  to  doubtful  leaders.  These  leaders,  too,  were 
sustained  by  a  noble  band  of  teachers,  among  them  the 
names  of  Mary  Gardner  (afterwards  Mrs.  W.  C.  Gilder- 
sleeve) and  Susan  Mitchell  made  a  noble  record  of 
Sabbath  School  work,  not  only  in  the  home  church  but 
also  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

The  power  of  Dr.  Dorrance  never  waned  in  his 
church,  or  in  his  Presbytery,*  but  he  evidently  sustained 
many  trials,  and  some  heavy  losses  or  disappointments, 
towards  the  close  of  his  ministry.  The  loss  of  children 
and  that  of  their  mother  followed  each  other  in  rapid 
succession ;  but  these  trials  were  borne  by  him  as  few 
men  could  have  borne  them.  The  development  of  the 
coal  and   other  industries   brought    into    the    quiet    and 

*The  largest  accession  to  his  church  in  any  one  year  was  75  in  1858. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  99  . 

peaceful  valley  a  great  increase  of  population,  of  diverse 
character  which,  with  the  increase  of  wealth  and  fashion, 
tended  to  magnify  material  prosperity  and  sensual 
pleasures,  and  to  deaden  piety  where  it  was  already 
feeble.  These  causes  greatly  increased  the  difficulty  of 
reaching  those  who  were  ignorant  of  the  gospel  and  of 
the  glorious  privilege  of  the  children  of  God,  and  such  a 
condition  of  things  must  have  been  very  depressing  to 
the  faithful  pastor.  The  deaths  of  so  many  of  his 
children,  terminating  careers  which  gave  peculiar  promise 
of  honor,  usefulness  and  earthly  happiness,  were  especially 
afflictive.  The  first  called  away  was  the  first  born,  a 
lovely  daughter,  who  had  married  Lieut.  J.  C.  Beaumont, 
of  the  U.  S.  Navy.  Then  the  eldest  son,  Benjamin  C. 
Dorrance,  who,  after  having  graduated  with  honor  in 
Princeton  College,  studied  theology  at  Danville  Seminary 
(hoping  for  benefit  from  the  genial  climate  of  Kentucky) 
and,  having  been  regularly  licensed  by  his  home  Presby- 
tery, Luzerne,  entered  the  work  of  the  ministry  in 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 

The  Westminster  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  city 
had  been  organized  August  23,  1857,  principally  through 
the  agency  of  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Rihildaffer,  D.  D.,  pastor  in 
St,  Paul,  who  was  able  to  give  the  new  organization  but 
one  day's  service  during  the  subsequent  six  months,  when 
Benjamin  Dorrance,  under  a  commission  from  the  Board 
of  Domestic  Missions,  took  charge  of  the  new  enterprise, 
Dec.  6,  1857.  Of  him  while  yet  in  the  academy,  one  of 
his  teachers  writes  in  connection  with  a  statement  con- 
cerning Dr.  Dorrance  :  "Benjamin  was  my  pupil,  diligent 
and  blameless.  I  should  judge  that  physically  and 
mentally  he  was  cast  in  much  the  same  sort  of  a  mould  as 


lOO  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

his  father."  Of  Mr.  Dorrance's  brief  ministry  in  Min- 
neapolis, the  history  of  Hennepin  County  says,  "Mr. 
Dorrance  was  a  pleasant  and  forcible  preacher.  By  his 
public  ministrations,  as  well  as  by  his  affectionate,  cheer- 
ful and  exemplary  Christian  deportment,  he  endeared 
himself  to  all.  It  was  a  sad  day  to  the  little  church  when 
their  beloved  minister,  with  the  shadow  of  death  on  his 
face,  bade  them  farewell,  never  to  return."  This  public 
loss  not  only  to  the  infant  church  in  Minneapolis,  but  to 
the  church  at  large,  must  have  been  vastly  keener  to  the 
parents  of  the  young  minister.  But,  alas,  these  were  not 
all  the  trials  to  which  the  honored  pastor  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Church  was  subjected.  Three  other  promising 
sons,  "the  light  of  his  eyes,"  faded  from  view,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years.  It  is  not  wonderful  therefore  that 
in  the  midst  of  such  trials,  past  and  prospective,  the  tone 
of  the  anniversary  or  quarter  century  sermon  of  1858 
bears  a  tinge  of  sadness  and  deprecates  increasing  vanity 
and  worldliness  in  others.  Still  he  did  not  lose  his 
cheerfulness,  nor  relax  his  labors.  Evidently  Dr.  Dor- 
rance's heart  was  not  set  upon  worldly  acquisitions,  for 
with  abounding  opportunities  and  facilities  to  avail  him- 
self of  them,  he  avoided  pecuniary  speculations.  He 
regarded  such  ventures  as  likely  to  imperil  his  usefulness 
in  the  great  work  to  which  he  had  devoted  his  life.  It  is 
true,  he  was  not  stimulated  by  the  pressure  of  want  to 
increase  his  worldly  gains.  Through  his  whole  ministry 
he  had  been  enabled  to  make  the  burden  of  his  support 
light  upon  the  local  or  general  church  by  sharing  it  about 
equally  with  his  congregation,  and  doing  so  cheerfully. 
In  this  he  possessed  an  advantage  over  his  brethren 
generally,  and  yet  his  administration  seems  to  have  been 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 01 

SO  wise  that  those  who  came  after  him  did  not  suffer,  as 
is  sometimes  the  case,  from  his  relations  and  generosity 
to  the  church  he  served.  The  co-operation  of  this  church 
with  the  Boards  of  the  general  church  was,  through  the 
intelligent  and  faithful  instruction  of  the  pastor,  constant 
and  cordial ;  moreover  its  giving  increased  with  the 
increase  of  its  members  and  their  increase  of  wealth. 

Dr.  Dorrance  was  a  true  Presbyterian,  but  far  remov- 
ed from  bigotry.  He  maintained  the  most  fraternal 
relations  with  his  brethren  of  other  denominations.  He 
has  especially  left  us  his  testimony  with  regard  to  the 
honorable,  fraternal  and  considerate  Christian  spirit  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  May,  the  Episcopal  rector  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
with  whom,  perhaps,  intimate  and  brotherly  relationship 
was  longer  maintained  than  with  his  other  fellow  workers 
in  the  pastoral  office. 

As  a  pastor  in  the  local  church,  he  was  faithful,  con- 
siderate and  beloved  of  all  his  parishioners.  The  late 
Judge  Collins,  a  member  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  session 
during  his  ministry,  in  an  obituary  published  soon  after 
his  death,  after  stating  facts  that  have  already  come  before 
the  reader  says  of  him  :  "Those  that  knew  the  extent  of 
his  persistent  labors  can  best  appreciate  their  worth.  As 
a  pastor,  few  men  have  succeeded  better  in  acquiring 
friends,  and  retaining  them.  In  talents.  Dr.  Dorrance 
stood  much  above  mediocrity.  His  sermons  were  logical 
and  practical ;  always  true  to  our  standards  and  frequently 
of  a  high  order.  In  pastoral  duties  he  was  judicious,  and 
discreet.  Prudence  with  him  was  a  cardinal  virtue.  His 
piety  was  calm  and  uniform.  In  his  intercourse  with  the 
session,  he  was  always  cordial  and  respectful,  and  during 
his  whole  ministry  there  was  no  single  instance  of  a  want 


102  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

of  harmony  in  the  action  of  the  session.  In  Presbytery, 
his  counsel  was  sought  and  respected.  In  domestic 
relations,  he  was  happy,  but  sorely  afflicted  by  sickness  in 
his  family.  The  loss  of  a  devoted  wife,  after  a  long  and 
pining  sickness,  and  of  four  pious  children  just  as  they 
were  ripening  for  usefulness  in  the  church,  were  sad  and 
painful  bereavements.  In  his  last  sickness,  he  gave  a 
patient  illustration  of  the  sustaining  power  of  the  religion 
which  he  had  professed  and  preached.  In  his  sickness, 
surrounded  by  his  friends,  in  the  last  extremity,  calm  and 
collected,  he  declared  that  he  could  trust  wholly  in  the 
Saviour  in  whom  he  had  believed,  and  that  he  felt  in  his 
own  soul  the  sustaining  power  and  consolation  of  that 
religion  which  he  had  preached  to  his  people.  He 
retained  an  unclouded  intellect,  and  fully  understood  his 
condition  until  he  was  called  by  the  Master  to  rest  from 
his  labors  and  sleep  in  Jesus." 

The  following  is  the  estimate  of  one  who  was  provi- 
dentially brought  into  intimate  relationship  with  Dr. 
Dorrance  in  the  midst  of  his  pastoral  career,  viz.,  the 
Rev.  S.  M.  Osmond,  D.  D.,  who  writes — "In  the  spring 
of  1850  I  took  charge  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy. 
My  recollections  of  many  things  in  connection  with  my 
brief  sojourn  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Wyoming  are,  of 
course,  somewhat  faded  with  the  lapse  of  45  years,  but 
the  memory  of  Dr.  Dorrance  and  his  interesting,  genial 
family  and  of  their  kindness  to  the  youthful  teacher  and 
stranger,  abides  with  me  very  vividly  still. 

"The  Doctor  was  then  in  the  prime  of  his  vigorous 
life  and  eminent  usefulness.  I  saw  at  a  glance  that  he 
was  no  ordinary  man.  Closer  acquaintance  only  deepen- 
ed the  impression  of  his  solid  and  practical  qualities,  as  a 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  IO3 

man,  and  minister.  He  had  a  somewhat  quiet,  self- 
absorbed  air.  He  was  an  inveterate  reader  of  pretty 
much  all  sorts  of  books,  not  excepting  the  best  novels  of 
the  day,  so  keeping  his  mind  freshened,  quickened,  and 
enriched  by  contact  with  current  literature.  He  evidently 
had  a  strong  hold  on  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his 
people,  and  I  think  of  the  community  generally.  His 
preaching  was  uniformly  good,  not  brilliant,  I  should  say, 
but  earnest,  instructive,  altogether  evangelical  and  far 
from  commonplace ;  well  adapted  to  his  congregation, 
in  which  all  classes  of  people,  and  grades  of  intellect  and 
culture  were  represented. 

"He  was  public  spirited  and  deeply  interested  in  the 
politics  of  the  day ;  and  especially  identified  with  all 
proper  movements  for  the  progress  of  Wilkes-Barre.  As 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  he  gave  close  atten- 
tion to  the  interests  of  the  Academy,  which  was  an 
institution  of  the  town  and  not  under  any  ecclesiastical 
control.  He  must  have  been  in  many  respects  an  ideal 
pastor,  and  to  his  influence  and  efforts  during  his  long 
and  successful  pastorate,  the  subsequent  high  character, 
strength  and  fruitfulness  of  the  church  to  which  he  gave 
his  life  and  labors,  are  doubtless  to  be  attributed." 

The  Hon.  Steuben  Jenkins*  who  has  the  reputation  of 
being  better  acquainted  with  the  history  of  Wyoming 
Valley  than  any  living  man  and  whose  ancestors  were 
identified  with  the  settlement  from  tht  first  explorations 
of  the  valley  with  a  view  to  its  settlement,  in  a  public 
address,  at  Forty  Fort  in  1888,  said  of  Dr.  Dorrance  : 
"He  was  a  man  of  much  more  than  ordinary  talents  and 
character,   all  of  which  he   devoted    unstintedly  to  the 

*  Now  Deceased. 


I04  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

service  of  the  Master,  and  the  upbuilding  of  His  Kingdom 
on  earth.  His  manner  was  mild  and  attractive,  inspiring 
confidence  in  every  word  and  work.  In  the  councils  of 
the  church,  his  moderation  prevailed  over  the  most 
violent  and  vehement  appeals  of  his  brethren.  In  times 
of  excitement,  when  words  and  feelings  ran  high,  his  cool 
manner  and  good  common  sense  suggestions  were  always 
accepted  as  safer  and  more  to  be  relied  upon  than  extreme 
measures.  He  had  the  unlimited  confidence  of  all  his 
associates,  and  his  word  was  law  among  them.  They 
always  found  his  counsel  to  lead  in  the  prudent  and  safe 
path.  He  became  a  tower  of  strength  in  his  church 
throughout  all  the  lines  of  its  organization.  He  was 
grave  without  austerity ;  firm  without  obstinacy  ;  mild 
without  weakness,  and  in  his  intercourse  with  the  w^orld, 
blameless."  This  verdict  of  a  highly  intelligent  public 
man  Dr.  Dorrance's  co-presbyters  unanimously  sanction. 

He  ceased  from  his  labors  on  earth  during  the  first 
year  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  before  he  knew  its 
fearful  magnitude  his  spirit  passed  into  rest,  with  loved 
ones  of  his  own  household  who  had  preceded  him.  His 
death  occured  April  i8,  1861.  It  was  calm  and  peaceful 
to  him,  but  universally  mourned  by  all  who  knew  him, 
especially  by  his  church  and  Presbytery,  to  whom  he  has 
left  a  precious  memory. 

Of  his  large  and  interesting  family  there  are  only  two 
survivors,  viz  :  Mrs.  G.  M.  Reynolds,  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  for  many  valuable  facts  of  her  father's  history, 
and  her  sister  Augusta,  wife  of  Alexander  Farnham,  Esq., 
of  Wilkes-Barre. 


VIII. 


KINGSTON  CHURCH  AND  ITS  PASTORS. 


THE  reader  has  already  been  made  familiar  with  the 
general  facts  in  the  history  of  this  church  up  to  the 
year  1833,  when  it  ceased  to  be  served  by  the  pastor  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Church.  When  Dr.  Dorrance  took 
charge  of  the  latter  congregation,  the  Rev.  Alexander 
Heberton  became  pastor  at  Kingston.  They  were  also 
classmates  in  the  Theological  Seminary.  He  was  born  in 
Philadelphia,  1803,  and  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  ordained  by  Newton  Presbytery, 
and  had  served  the  Allen  Township  Presbyterian  Church 
some  six  years.  When  Kingston  Church  was  accorded  a 
separate  pastor,  the  Susquehanna  river  became  the  natural 
boundary  or  dividing  line  between  it  and  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Church,  which  made  the  former  church  mostly 
responsible  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Wyoming  Valley, 
and  back  to  Lehman  and  up  Bowman  Creek  where  some 
of  its  members  resided,  while  the  latter  had  all  the 
interests  of  the  east  side  and  the  whole  of  the  valley  of 
the  Lackawanna  to  look  after.  Both  had  ample  fields, 
and  set  themselves  diligently  to  their  cultivation. 

While  Kingston  Church  had  such  an  ample  field,  it 
had  no  house  of  worship  of  its  own  when  Mr.  Heberton 
took  charge  of  it.  Many  of  its  Sabbath  services  were 
held  in  private  houses,  especially  those  of  elder  Daniel 
Hoyt  and  Mrs.   Elijah  Reynolds.     At  Forty  Fort  there 


I06  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  union  house  of  worship,  and 
Mr.  Jacob  Shoemaker  erected  a  small  building  for  public 
worship  on  what  is  now  a  cemetery  lot  near  Wyoming*. 
All  these  places,  with  others,  more  remote,  were  occupied 
according  to  convenience.  In  such  a  wide  field  the 
services  of  the  minister  must  have  been  scattered,  and  of 
necessity  less  frequent  than  is  generally  expected  from  a 
settled  minister,  but  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  neigh- 
borhood prayer  meetings  were  maintained  throughout 
the  extended  field,  and  the  way  was  being  prepared  for 
Kingston  to  become  a  mother  of  churches. 

Mr.  Heberton  did  not  retain  charge  of  the  Kingston 
church  long,  although  it  is  understood  that  he  was 
popular.  He  went  from  Kingston  to  Salem,  N.  J.,  but 
returned  to  the  Susquehanna,  at  Berwick,  in  1845,  where 
he  remained  till  1850,  and  was  in  connection  with  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne.  After  filling  other  charges,  he 
returned  to  the  city  of  his  birth,  Philadelphia,  where  he 
was  City  missionary  from  1868  to  1884,  and  where  he 
died  in  1895,  at  the  advanced  age  of  92,  after  a  long, 
useful  and  honored  life,  leaving  ministerial  successors  in 
his  sons. 

His  immediate  successor  at  Kingston  was  the  Rev. 
Charles  Chapin  Corss  who  also  died  a  few  days  ago  at 
the  age  of  93.  Mr.  Corss  was  born  May  22,  1803,  in 
Greenfield,  Mass.  His  parents  died  when  he  was  but 
eleven  years  old;  he  and  eight  brothers  and  sisters  were 
left  to  the  care  of  their  grandparents.  Early  in  life, 
however,  Charles  seems  to  have  assumed  the  privilege  of 
self-support,  in  a  great  measure,  nor  was  he  satisfied  to 
simply  secure    the   ordinary  supply   of  his    wants.       He 

♦Formerly  Trov. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  lO/ 

aspired  to  secure  a  liberal  education,  and  his  perseverance 
was  rewarded  by  the  diplomas  of  Amherst  College  and 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  He  was  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Hampshire  Association  of  Mass.,  Feb., 
1834.  The  following  December  he  became  stated  supply 
of  the  Kingston  church,  which  he  served  two  years  in 
connection  with  a  more  general  missionary  work  in 
adjacent  regions.  During  this  time  he  was  ordained  by 
the  Susquehanna  Presbytery,  of  which  he  continued  a 
member  till  the  reunion  of  the  Old  and  New  School 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was  highly 
respected  by  his  brethren,  whom  he  greatly  aided  in  all 
their  enterprises,  although  for  some  thirty  years  he  was 
pastor  of  the  East  Smithfield  Congregational  church. 
Mr.  Corss  was  especially  active  and  influential  in  es- 
tablishing the  ''Susquehanna  Collegiate  Institute"  at 
Towanda.  As  we  have  already  stated,  he  wrote  a  history 
of  his  Presbytery.  The  Rev.  C.  N.  Phelps,  in  an 
obituary  notice  of  Mr.  Corss,  published  in  the  Presby- 
terian, June  17th,  1895,  tells  us  that  he  was  of  Huguenot 
descent;  and  after  speaking  of  the  various  posts  of 
usefulness  he  occupied,  says  of  him,  after  a  lifelong 
acquaintance  with  his  public  career :  '  'He  was  the  first 
minister  of  the  gospel  I  ever  knew ;  I  think  the  first  one 
to  whom  I  ever  listened.  Probably  no  one  ever  lived,  or 
ever  will  live  hereafter,  in  Smithfield  who  will  exert  such 
an  influence  upon  human  character  and  human  thought  in 
Smithfield  as  he  did.  Both  the  times  and  the  man  were 
such  as  to  make  this  possible.  It  was  a  stirring  time  in 
the  intensely  religious  thought  of  the  community,  and 
there  were  thinkers  in  Smithfield  in  those  days  when  he 
was  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood.       A  master  of  faultless 


I08  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

English,  a  mind  given  to  mathematical  formulas,  and  a 
soul  always  having  the  courage  of  its  own  clear-cut 
convictions,  coupled  with  an  active  pastorate  of  thirty 
years,  an  unblemished  reputation  and  a  most  kindly  daily 
life,  which  never  failed  to  win  the  hearts  of  men  to  whom 
his  theology  might  have  seemed  forbidding, — what  could 
follow  but  such  a  result  as  we  have  intimated  ?  Men 
might  not  agree  with  him,  but  no  man  could  follow  him 
in  his  thoughts,  Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  and  not  be  made 
to  think  earnestly;  to  think  to  the  end  of  the  problem." 
Mr.  Corss  married,  while  in  charge  of  the  Kingston 
church,  Miss  Anna  Hoyt,  who  died  in  1857,  leaving  five 
children,  four  of  whom,  survive  their  father  and  occupy 
prominent  and  influential  positions  in  various  communities. 
"In  1866,  he  married  Miss  Lucelia  Phelps,  of  Smithfield, 
who  died  only  a  few  weeks  before  him.  At  her  funeral 
her  husband  paid  a  most  worthy  tribute  to  the  many 
virtues  of  the  departed,  who  had  so  kindly  cared  for  his 
children  and  blessed  him  in  his  home  life  for  so  many 
years. ' ' 


The  Rev.  Ebenezer  Hazard  Snowden,  the  next 
pastor  of  the  Kingston  church,  who  came  to  it  in  the  year 
1837,  was  then  a  man  of  about  forty  years.  This  was  six 
years  before  the  organization  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne, 
of  which  he  was  destined  to  become  an  important 
member.  Born  June  27,  1799,  in  what  has  long  been 
regarded  the  Mecca  of  Presbyterianism  in  this  country, 
Princeton,  N.  J.  His  father,  a  Presbyterian  minister 
bearing  the  name  of  one  of  the  fathers  of  Presbyterianism 
in   America,    Samuel   Finley   Snowden,   was    one   of  five 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  IC9 

brothers,  all  of  whom  graduated  at  Princeton  College. 
Dr.  Samuel  Finley  was  one  of  the  honored  presidents  of 
this  college,  and  Samuel  Finley  Snowden  was  the  first 
pastor  of  the  Princeton  Presbyterian  church.  The  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  prominent 
citizen  of  Philadelphia,  a  patriot  of  the  Revolution,  His 
name  was  Isaac  Snowden.  The  mother  of  Mr,  Snowden 
was  Susan  Bayard  Breese,  daughter  of  Samuel  Sidney 
Breese,  of  Shrewsburg,  N.  Y.  She  was  a  granddaughter, 
on  her  mother's  side,  of  the  Rev.  James  Anderson,  the 
first  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  New  York 
city. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Finley  Snowden  removed  from 
Princeton,  when  Ebenezer  was  an  infant,  to  New  Hartford, 
N.  Y. ,  where  he  remained  eleven  years,  after  which  he 
accepted  a  call  to  Sackett's  Harbor,  and  remained  there 
during  his  natural  life ;  consequently  we  find  Ebenezer, 
instead  of  being  in  Princeton,  in  Hamilton  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  in  the 
class  of  which  Gerret  Smith,  the  famous  abolitionist,  was 
an  honored  member. 

Mr.  Ebenezer  H.  Snowden  devoted  three  years  to 
the  study  of  law,  after  leaving  college,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Utica,  N,  Y.,  and  entered  upon  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  in  the  midst  of 
influential  relatives;  but  he  was  not  happy,  and  almost 
immediately  abandoned  the  law  to  enter  on  a  course  of 
study  in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  in  preparation 
for  the  gospel  ministry. 

Mr.  Snowden  was  ordained  as  an  evangelist  by  the 
New  York  Presbytery,  Oct.  ii,  1826,  and  went 
immediately  to  St.  Augustine,  Florida.     After  serving  the 


I  10  PRESBYTERV    OF    LUZIiRNE. 

church  there  some  time  as  stated  supply,  he  was  duly 
installed  pastor,  and  occupied  the  field  till  1836,  in 
connection  with  the  Presbytery  of  Florida  or  Georgia. 
The  cause  of  Presbyterianism  was  by  no  means  strong  in 
that  region.  It  must,  therefore,  have  gladdened  the  heart 
of  the  pioneer  of  that  cause  to  know,  before  his  departure 
from  this  life,  that  the  St.  Augustine  church  was  made  the 
recipient  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  as  a  memorial 
fund  from  a  Mr.  Flagler,  millionaire,  to  erect  a 
magnificent  church  to  cherish  the  memory  of  a  beloved 
daughter,  Mrs.  Benedict,  wlio  died  on  board  a  yacht 
opposite  that  city,  which  she  had  been  visiting  in  pursuit 
of  health. 

In  1836,  Mr.  Snowden  returned  north,  to  Brownville 
church,  N.  Y.,  where  he  became  pastor.  This  relation 
seems  to  have  been  cut  short  by  the  troublesome  questions 
which  were  then  agitating  the  Presbyterian  church, 
especially  in  New  York.  Being  in  attendance  at  the 
General  Assembly,  in  1837,  the  crucial  time  in  the  great 
controversy  which  had  been  pending  in  the  church  and 
which  seems  to  have  turned  Mr.  Snowden 's  attention 
to  another  field,  he  listened  to  overtures  from  the 
Kingston  church,  and  was  soon  after  installed  as  its 
pastor.  His  whole  time,  however,  was  not  demanded; 
for  one  Sabbath  in  four  was  given  to  Nanticoke  and  other 
places,  and  during  the  week,  in  addition  to  pastoral  work 
in  his  congregation,  he  did  missionary  work  in  many 
neighboring  places,  e.  g. ,  Plymouth,  Lehman  and  points 
in  the  Lackawanna  Valley. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Kingston  church  held  its 
Sabbath  services  in  the  old  Academy,  as  the  centre  of  its 
operations.       Mr.    Snowden,    however,    raised    and    ad- 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  Ill 

vocated  the  question  of  building  a  sanctuary,  a  home 
exclusively  for  stated  worship  and  around  which  sacred 
associations  only  should  cluster.  In  consequence  of  the 
widely  scattered  membership  of  the  church, —  not  large  in 
the  aggregate, —  together  with  the  fact  that  up  to  this 
time  demands  for  the  productions  of  the  farm  were 
limited  and  money  consequently  scarce,  the  building  of  a 
house  distinctively  for  worship  had  not  been  accomplished. 
It  was  therefore  some  time  after  Mr.  Snowden's  advent 
before  the  work  of  church  building  was  inaugurated. 
Doubtless  many  precious  memories  and  sacred  associations 
bound  the  people  to  the  old  Academy ;  and  their  loving 
intercourse  in  social  worship  in  each  others  houses  tended 
to  delay  what  seems  to  us  a  pressing  duty,  viz.,  that  of 
building  a  house  for  God,  whom  they  had  now  worshiped 
for  more  than  a  generation  in  private  and  secular 
buildings.  With  such  an  experience,  it  is  not  wonderful 
that  the  full  significance  of  the  Psalmist's  longings  and 
beautiful  expressions  with  regard  to  the  amiableness  of  the 
tabernacles  of  God  should  not  have  had  their  full  force 
with  these  tried  and  scattered  people.  Then,  too,  by 
this  time,  a  much  greater  diversity  of  religious  sentiment 
had  come  into  the  valley.  These  divergent  sentiments 
had  been  greatly  restrained  and  modified  by  prevalent 
influences  that  came  with  the  first  settlers,  so  that  a  better 
type  of  dissent  obtained  and  continued  in  the  beautiful 
Wyoming  Valley.  This  is  seen  in  the  way  the  Kingston 
community  was  then  prepared  for  the  establishment  and 
wonderful  prosperity  of  that  noble  institution,  the 
Wyoming  Seminary.  It  reaped  untold  advantages  from 
the  prevalence  in  that  community  of  the  Puritan  idea 
of  education.       The  denomination  which   projected  this 


112  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

successful  institution  had  not  been  long  in  the  field  as  the 
special  pioneer  of  education,  but  it  had  not  been  a 
careless  observer  of  the  efforts  of  others,  and  doubtless 
noted  the  danger  to  which  even  Christian  foundations  are 
exposed  in  the  absence  of  strict  constitutional  and 
ecclesiastical  control  of  educational  institutions  which  rise 
upon  such  foundations.  Therefore  when  our  Methodist 
brethren  became  the  patrons  of  education,  they  applied 
their  ecclesiastical  methods  with  a  rigor  to  which  Congre- 
gationalists  and  Presbyterians  were  in  the  beginning 
strangers. 

The  Wyoming  Seminary  from  the  beginning  enjoyed 
such  control,  and  while  it  was  thus  more  safely  held  to 
evangelical  teachings,  on  the  other  hand  it  was  made 
more  pointedly  the  exponent  of  Methodism  and,  of  course, 
more  a  rival  of  sister  denominations.  In  plain  English, 
it  gave  our  brethren  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  faith  a 
great  advantage  over  their  Presbyterian  neighbors  in 
Kingston,  especially  in  the  beginning  of  its  career.  This 
fact,  in  connection  with  the  long  delay  in  the  building 
of  a  Presbyterian  house  of  worship  in  Kingston,  made  the 
growth  of  the  Kingston  church  slow  for  many  years.  Mr. 
Snowden  saw  his  building  enterprise  completed  in  1842, 
the  year  before  the  erection  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery. 
The  edifice  was  a  comely  one,  seating  about  three 
hundred,  and  costing  about  $2,500.  It  saved  the  life 
of  the  Kingston  church  and  tended  greatly  to  secure  for  it 
ultimate  prosperity.  Therefore,  •  and  for  other  reasons, 
Mr.  Snowden' s  pastorate  marked  an  era  in  the  history 
of  the  Kingston  Presbyterian  church. 

It  enters  the  new  Presbytery  as  an  important  factor 
in  its  new  local  home  and  habitation ;   and  equally,  if  not 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  I  I  3 

more  significant,  is  the  work  it  fostered  and  developed  at 
various  points  in  its  extended  original  field,  as  it,  from 
time  to  time,  gave  segments  of  its  membership  to 
constitute  new  organizations  and  multiplied  centres  of 
spiritual  light  and  life.  One  of  its  early  elders  appears 
with  efficiency  in  two  new  organizations  in  the  bounds 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  and  was  signally  honored 
after  he  had  served  in  the  last  and  third  church  twenty- 
five  years.  In  meriting  and  receiving  this  honor 
personally,  he  has  honored  the  church  which  set  him 
apart  as  an  overseer  in  the  house  of  God. 

Mr.  Snowden  supplied  Nanticoke  for  a  part  of  each 
month,  till  1843,  when  the  Rev.  Wm.  Huntting  became 
the  stated  supply  of  that  part  of  Mr.  Snowden' s  field. 
Mr.  Snowden  was  released  from  his  pastoral  charge  at 
Kingston,  returned  to  the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna,  and 
was  pastor  of  the  Warrenham  church  from  1849  ^o  1852, 
having  been  engaged  in  looking  after  some  of  the  mission 
fields  of  Luzerne  Presbytery  from  1845  to  the  fall  of 
1849.  Returning  to  his  home  in  Kingston  after  resigning 
his  charge  in  Susquehanna  Presbytery,  we  find  him 
engaged  in  supplying  Plymouth,  Larksville,  and  other 
places,  diligently  preaching  the  gospel  until  the  infirmities 
of  age  incapacitated  him  for  work,  which  was  not  until  he 
was  about  ninety  years  old.  In  his  varied  labors,  the 
attention  which  he  gave  to  Plymouth  during  many  years, 
beginning  when  he  was  pastor  of  the  Kingston  church, 
resulted  in  such  vital  effects  to  that  place  and  congregation, 
that  it  seems  to  the  writer  we  have  reached  the  point  from 
which  we  may  properly  introduce  the  history  of  the 
Plymouth  church,  and  its  relations  to  the  Presbytery 
of  Luzerne. 


114  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

The  original  population  of  Plymouth  was  part  and 
parcel  of  that  which  has  engaged  our  attention  in  writing 
of  Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston.  There  were,  however, 
some  peculiarities  developed  in  some  of  the  influential 
colonists  from  Connecticut  which  evidently  modified  the 
subsequent  history  of  that  part  of  Wyoming  Valley. 
There  is  also  something  due  to  the  location  of  this 
settlement.  Being  at  the  extreme  southern  limit  of  the 
valley  made  it  less  eligible  as  a  central  and  influential 
point,  in  early  days  leaving  its  inhabitants  liable  to  be 
swayed,  rather  than  enabling  them  to  sway  those  beyond 
their  immediate  vicinage.  How  much  its  subsequent 
religious  state  was  determined  by  the  change  of  views  on 
the  part  of  the  Rev.  Noah  Wadhams  we  cannot  decide. 
It  is  said  that  he  was  an  excellent,  learned  and  pious  man, 
a  graduate  of  Princeton  College,  and  the  first  of  its 
graduates  to  enter  the  valley,  though  an  host  came  later. 
Soon  after  the  massacre,  he  left  the  Connecticut  church 
and  became  a  Methodist,  but  it  seems  that  he  only 
preached  thereafter  as  a  local  minister  of  that  denom- 
ination. He  had  come  early  to  the  valley,  having  been 
appointed  minister  to  one  of  the  colonies  sent  out  by  the 
Susquehanna  company.  At  any  rate,  we  find  in  Plymouth 
less  of  substantial  agreement  among  the  settlers  than  usual 
among  the  Connecticut  colonists ;  a  larger  number  of 
denominations  represented  and  new  isms  readily  finding 
admission  and  adherents.  With  an  increase  of  the  coal 
trade  came  an  increase  of  population,  and  gradually 
evangelical  churches  were  strengthened,  among  them  the 
Presbyterian,  which  from  the  beginning  had  its  represen- 
tatives in  Plymouth ;  these,  so  far  as  they  were  identified 
with  local  organizations,  had  their  membership  with  the 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  II5 

Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston  church.  When  it  was 
divided,  and  Kingston  church  organized,  it  seems  that  all 
the  adherents  of  the  original  church  at  Plymouth  did  not 
fall  in  with  the  Kingston  organization.  Consequently  we 
find,  after  two  pastors  took  the  place  of  one,  that  both 
had  interests,  to  some  extent,  in  Plymouth,  and 
occasionally  maintained  services  there.  This  state  of 
things,  while  helpful  to  the  general  cause,  perhaps  served 
to  delay  distinct  and  separate  effort  to  establish  a  local 
organization  in  Plymouth.  In  the  absence  of  regular 
service  there  doubtless  was  a  scattering  and  loss  of 
material  from  which  the  Presbyterian  church  might  have 
derived  increase  and  strength,  and  so  proved  a  more 
healthful  agency  in  promoting  the  best  sentiment,  and  in 
securing  the  greater  prosperity,  of  that  beautiful  place. 
All  this,  however,  has  now  been  corrected. 

The  Rev.  Wm.  P.  White,  D.  D.,  who  for  a  time  did 
excellent  service  in  the  Plymouth  church,  and  brought  it 
to  a  much  higher  plane  of  prosperity  and  usefulness  as  a 
church  of  Christ,  prepared  an  excellent  history  of  the 
organization  in  1876,  the  centennial  of  our  nation.  While 
the  writer  is  not  expected  to  chronicle  Dr.  White's  work 
in  Plymouth,  he  takes  pleasure  in  acknowledging  his  in- 
debtedness to  him  for  many  historical  facts  relative  to  that 
church.  His  pastoral  work  at  Plymouth  was  just  after  the 
demise  of  Luzerne  Presbytery. 

In  the  history  of  the  Plymouth  church,  after  noting 
the  occasional  services  of  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Hoyt,  Gilder- 
sleeve,  Murray,  Dorrance  and  Heberton  at  Plymouth,  he 
says  of  the  Rev.  E.  H.  Snowden,  D.  D.  :  "I  come  now 
to  speak  of  one  whose  labor  for  Presbyterianism  in  this 
place  was  more  abundant  than  all  others.      His  name  is 


Il6  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

intimately  associated  with  the  early  struggles  and  conflicts 
to  secure  and  maintain  a  church  of  our  faith  in  Plymouth. 
Of  his  self-denial  and  faithfulness  in  the  cause  of  the 
Master  there  are  yet  witnesses  among  us.  The  first 
minute  relating  to  Plymouth  which  I  find  on  the  records 
of  Presbytery  is  dated  April  15,  1845.  It  was  recom- 
mended 'that  the  Rev.  E.  H.  Snowden  be  commissioned 
to  supply  Hanover  and  labor  in  Plymouth,  Dallas,  and 
Lehman  townships,  with  aid  from  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions.'  This  circuit  or  parts  of  it  occupied  the  at- 
tention of  Mr.  Snowden  till  he  was  invited  to  Warrenham 
in  1849  to  1852.  During  this  absence  of  Mr.  S.  from 
Luzerne  county,  it  appears  that  Plymouth  was  allowed  to 
drift  again,  so  far  as  specific  efforts  were  made  to  provide 
for  it  by  the  Presbytery. "  Dr.  White  finds  in  the  min- 
utes of  the  Presbytery,  Sept.  19,  1854,  the  following: 
"Rev.  E.  H.  Snowden,  who  was  commissioned  last  May 
to  labor  at  Hanover  and  Plymouth,  made  a  statement  of 
the  condition  and  prosperity  there,  and  applied  for  an  in- 
crease of  missionary  aid,"  and  he  adds,  "from  this  time, 
Mr.  Snowden  continued  to  preach  regularly  in  Plymouth, 
for  a  time  every  two  weeks,  the  alternate  Sabbath  being 
given  to  Northmoreland. ' ' 

The  upper  room  of  the  Academy  building  in  Ply- 
mouth was,  until  1855,  the  common  room  in  which  all 
denominations  preached,  furnishing  cheap  accommodation 
for  religious  services  and  making  it  easy  to  multiply  the 
variety,  but  difficult  for  any  one  of  them  to  maintain  close 
continuity  of  services.  However,  during  the  year  above 
mentioned,  or  the  next  year,  the  Methodists  and  the 
Christians  built  houses  of  worship,  giving  ampler  room  to 
those  who   had    been  sharing    with  them  the  accommo- 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  11/ 

dations  of  the  Academy,  and  opening  the  way  for  other 
varieties.  However  that  may  have  been,  we  find  that 
from  this  time  onward  Presbyterian  services  were  main- 
tained and  increased.  Still  the  denomination  and  its 
minister  are  not  happy.  They  show  an  anxious  desire 
to  have  a  church  and  place  of  worship  all  their  own, 
though  the  Presbyterian  element  had  not  been  strong 
enough  to  secure  one  of  the  houses  of  worship  already 
built.  The  first  aggressive  movement  is  toward  a  distinct 
Presbyterian  organization.  Quoting  from  Dr.  White 
again,  he  says,  with  regard  to  an  organization,  notwith- 
standing the  absence  of  numbers  and  strength :  "Still  they 
were  soon  encouraged  to  form  an  organization.  I  find 
the  following  petition  presented  to  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne  at  its  session  in  Tunkhannock,  Sept.  17,  1856: 
'We,  whose  names  are  hereto  subscribed,  being  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  or  congregation,  and  attached 
to  its  doctrines  and  government,  and  feeling  a  strong 
desire  to  enjoy  its  ordinances  and  means  of  grace,  would 
respectfully  request  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  to  organize 
us  into  a  Presbyterian  church  and  congregation,  to  be 
called  the  First  Presbyterian  church  and  congregation 
of  Plymouth. ' ' '  Signed  by  members  of  the  church  : 
Louisa  B.  Eno,  Margaret  Hutchison,  Thomas  W.  Posser, 
Jane  Hutchison,  Mary  E.  Lewis,  Ann  Hutchison,  Ann  D. 
Lewis,  William  McGuffee,  Ann  D.  Rhys,  Ellen  McGuffee, 
William  Stout,  Hanna  Stout,  Elizabeth  Stout,  Charles 
Hutchinson,  Agnes  Hutchinson,  Robert  Hutchinson,  Jane 
Hutchinson,  Ellen  Wright,  Joseph  Lind,  Jane  Lind, 
James  Lind. 

Members  of  the  Congregation  :     Robert  Love,  Agnes 
Love,  James  Hutchinson,  George  F.    Cook,   Sarah  Ann 


Il8  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Cook,  Charles  Bovier,  Robert  Bowie,  Thomas  Weir, 
Margaret  Weir,  Robert  Hutchinson,  Isabella  McGuffie, 
Josiah  Enos. 

The  above  petition  brought  the  following  committee 
from  Presbytery  to  Plymouth,  October  5,  1856,  viz  : 
the  Rev.  E.  H.  Snowden,  Dr.  John  Dorrance,  and  Elder 
Calvin  Parsons  ;  and  the  above  named  church  members 
were  formally  constituted  "  The  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Plymouth."  Charles  Hutchinson  and  William  Stout 
were  elected  elders.  Mr.  Hutchinson  was  ordained  and 
installed,  but  Mr.  Stout,  not  being  present,  was  never  in- 
ducted into  the  office  of  ruling  elder.  The  prayer  of 
ordination  was  ofiered  by  Mr.  Snowden,  and  the  charge 
given  by  Dr.  Dorrance.  The  Rev.  Zebulon  Butler,  from 
Port  Gibson,  Miss.,  had  returned  to  his  native  valley  to 
visit  friends  and  added  to  the  service,  in  which  he  was  so 
deeply  interested,  some  appropriate  remarks. 

Soon  after  a  Board  of  Trustees,  consisting  of  J.  W. 
Eno,  William  Stout,  Stewart  Craig,  Charles  Hutchinson 
and  Robert  Love,  were  duly  elected. 

In  these  transactions  we  note  movements  towards  re- 
claiming ground  that  had  been  alienated  from  those  of 
the  Reformed  Faith,  or  had  been  left  without  proper 
cultivation  by  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans.  They 
were,  therefore,  significant  transactions.  Although  Mr. 
Snowden  never  was  formally  inducted  into  the  pastoral 
office  in  Plymouth,  he  led  the  movements  which  re-estab- 
lished an  institution  which  worked  successfully  in  the 
line  of  the  earlier  religious  movements  in  the  primitive 
days  of  the  colony.  Dr.  White  says  of  the  material  or- 
ganized into  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Plymouth,  "And 
now  here  came  together,  and  are  organized  into  a  church, 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  II9 

Streams  from  widely  different  quarters.  There  is  the 
descendant  of  the  old  Puritan  of  New  England,  of  the 
Huguenot  of  the  South,  and  many  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  firm,  unbending  Covenanters  of  bonnie  Scotland. ' ' 
Though  such  streams  do  flow  from  different  directions, 
they  are  always  found  to  coalesce,  because  their  faith  had 
reached  their  hearts  from  a  common  source ;  and  after 
twenty  years,  in  reviewing  the  career  of  the  new  church. 
Dr.  White  says,  in  speaking  of  the  congregation  then 
active,  "  I  know  there  are  some  among  us  who,  looking 
back  twenty  years  and  remembering  how  they  were  then 
situated  as  a  church,  rejoice,  and  praise  God  for  the 
privileges  they  now  have,  and  are  more  ready  to  help 
others  who  are  struggling  as  they  were. ' ' 

After  the  organization,  the  congregation  continued 
to  occupy  the  upper  room  of  the  Academy,  and  seem 
from  that  time  to  have  maintained  their  own  Sabbath 
school,  the  other  stronger  denominations  having  estab- 
lished denominational  schools.  Mr.  Charles  Hutchinson 
was  the  first  superintendent,  with  Mrs.  L.  B.  Eno, 
assistant.  A  weekly  prayer  meeting  was  held  in  private 
houses.  The  record  of  the  first  sessional  meeting  bears 
date  May  i,  1856,  at  which  Margaret  Weir,  Elizabeth 
Hancock,  and  William  McGuffie,  were  received  into  full 
membership  of  the  church.  On  the  same  day,  the  ordi- 
nance of  baptism  was  administered  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Hancock,  and  Margaret  Bowie,  infant  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Charles  Hutchinson.  This  was  the  first  administration  of 
sealing  ordinances. 

The  church  grew  slowly  for  the  first  four  years,  but 
after  that  exhibits  new  energy  in  the  inauguration  of 
measures  to  secure  a  sanctuary.      A  location  was  secured 


I20  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

and  Presbyterial  aid  pledged  April  19,  1857.  Yet  there 
seems  to  have  been  hesitation ;  for  after  a  year,  or  March 
29,  i860,  we  find  a  congregational  meeting  advising 
against  the  proposed  repairing  of  the  Academy  and  in 
favor  of  immediate  effort  to  build  a  church,  and  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  subscribed  at  the  meeting, 
which  had  unanimously  decided  to  arise  and  build.  Dr. 
White,  however,  says  in  his  history,  "Yet  I  find  no 
further  reference  to  the  subject  on  the  records  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  I  am  told  that  efforts  to  secure  sub- 
scriptions to  any  amount  were  not  successful.  The 
Academy  room  was  then  somewhat  repaired  and  made 
more  comfortable  and  the  congregation  continued  for 
some  years  longer  to  worship  where,  for  nearly  half  a 
century,  the  religious  services  of  the  town  had  been 
conducted."  A  larger  element  of  staunch  Scotch  Pres- 
byterianism  had  come  into  the  town  and  every  Sabbath 
morning  its  representatives  could  be  relied  upon  to  be 
in  the  place  of  divine  worship.  The  congregation  was 
not  large,  but  it  was  regular.  When  Mr.  Snowden  was 
not  present,  a  sermon  was  read.  The  Sabbath  school  met 
in  the  afternoon  and  was  quite  well  attended,  not  being 
confined  to  the  children  of  any  one  denomination.  Many 
who  were  thus  interested  are  now  in  the  church.  The 
seed  that  was  sown  has  brought  forth  its  fruit. 

The  session  was  strengthened  from  time  to  time. 
First,  Mr.  Stewart  Craig  was  elected  March  3,  1859; 
Mr.  Andrew  Weir,  December,  1866,  whom  the  writer 
knew  to  be  a  good  and  faithful  man,  and,  for  a  time, 
a  member  of  the  sessions  which  he  moderated. 

Mr.  Snowden's  characteristic  perseverance  was  finally 
encouraged  by  seeing  the  work  of  church  building  begun 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  121 

in  1866,  and  ultimately  rewarded  by  seeing  it  completed 
two  years  later.  The  edifice  was  a  commodious  one, 
for  the  first.  It  was  erected  for  about  four  thousand 
dollars,  five  hundred  of  which  was  furnished  by  our 
helpful  Board  of  Church  Erection.  The  greater  part  of 
the  balance  was  given  by  the  Plymouth  people  themselves. 
This  home  and  local  habitation  provided,  future  useful- 
ness was  assured. 

In  view  of  past  conditions  and  the  divided  labors 
of  the  minister,  who  was  never  a  resident  of  Plymouth, 
there  had  been  good  work  done.  During  the  fifteen 
years  of  Mr.  Snowden's  ministry,  a  church  had  been 
gathered  ;  there  had  been  added  to  it  43  on  profession, 
21  by  letter;  a  good  and  large  Sabbath  school  main- 
tained, and  a  suitable  and  comely  sanctuary  erected  to 
the  worship  of  God. 

After  all  these  years  and  varied  toils,  Mr.  Snowden 
is  no  longer  young.  He  had  never  been  able  to  dwell 
among  the  people  at  Plymouth,  and  that  some  one  else 
might  do  so,  he  gracefully  retires  from  the  field,  but  not 
from  work.  For,  before  that  is  done,  another  house  is  to 
be  raised  for  the  worship  of  the  triune  God, — more 
directly  his  personal  work,  and  one  with  which  his  name 
is  more  closely  connected,  viz:  "The  Snowden  Me- 
morial Church"  of  Larksville.  The  veteran,  in  this 
case,  is  found  breaking  new  ground  and  providing  for 
gathering  an  entirely  new  church.  This  organization 
was  effected  May  27,  1870,  therefore  occurred  about  the 
time  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  ceased  to  be,  and  its 
history  belongs  to  another  Presbytery,  but  Dr.  Snowden 
continued  for  a  long  time  to  foster  the  enterprise,  or 
until  he  was  laid  aside  by  the  infirmities  of  age. 


122  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

After  Mr.  Snowden  relinquished  the  Plymouth 
church,  it  was  for  about  a  year  without  regular  minis- 
trations. The  Rev.  Thomas  P.  Hunt,  as  was  usual  with 
him  in  such  cases,  to  a  large  extent  supplied  the  lack  of 
services  from  others,  and  always  to  the  profit  and  jjleasure 
of  those  who  waited  on  his  ministry. 

We  have  followed  up  the  history  of  the  Plymouth 
church,  to  the  demise  of  our  Presbytery.  In  the  quo- 
tations made  above  from  Dr.  White's  fuller  history, 
the  reader  has  no  doubt  gathered  the  spirit  and  purpose 
of  the  next  minister,  under  whose  pastorate  the  church 
enjoyed  an  era  of  unwonted  prosperity  in  every  depart- 
ment of  church  life.  It  is  not,  however,  our  province  to 
write  of  or  trench  on  the  transactions  of  the  new  Presby- 
tery under  which  the  work,  inaugurated  and  fostered  by 
the  Luzerne  Presbytery,  was  continued  with,  perhaps, 
new  impetus,  under  Dr.  White's  ministry. 

Dr.  Snowden  was  twice  married.  First,  while  with 
his  first  charge  in  Florida,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Allison 
Smith,  a  daughter  of  the  Collector  of  the  Port  in  St. 
Augustine.  There  were  seven  children  born  to  them, 
of  whom  four  were  alive  at  the  death  of  their  father,  viz  : 
three  daughters  and  a  son  :  Mary  Salina,  married  to  John 
W.  Metcalf,  of  Irish  Lane,  Luzerne  county,  Pa.  ;  James 
Glassel  Snowden,  of  Castaline,  Era  county,  Ohio ;  Mrs. 
J.  de  Sha  Patton,  of  Cleveland,  Tenn.,  and  Mrs.  James 
Monroe  William.son,  of  Oakland  City.  The  first  Mrs. 
Snowden  died  while  her  children  were  still  young.  After 
some  years,  Dr.  Snowden  married  Miss  Caroline  Adams, 
at  Newburg,  N.  Y.,  who  was  a  relative  of  John  Quincy 
Adams.  She  died  January,  1892.  A  writer  in  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Record,  says  of  Dr.  Snowden's  evening  of 


PRESBYTERY   OF    LUZERNE.  1 23 

life:  "After  advanced  age  incapacitated  him  for  the 
performance  of  pastoral  duties,  he  attended  church  reg- 
ularly until  the  year  of  his  death."  He  was  evidently  an 
old  man  ripening  for  another  life,  and  yet,  he  said  of 
him:  "he  survived  his  years  in  a  condition  of  excellent 
preservation."  While  the  recollections  of  the  past  were 
vivid,  he  does  not  seem  to  have  lost  his  interest  in  things 
and  persons  around  him.  His  last  days  were,  it  is  under- 
stood, soothed  by  the  tender  care  of  a  daughter,  "who 
had  remained  at  home  with  him  and  left  nothing  imdone 
that  would  add  to  his  comfort  and  happiness  during  the 
years  which  the  infirmities  of  age  rendered  necessary."* 

*Dr.  Urquhai-t. 


IX. 
THE  REV.  THOMAS  POAGE  HUNT. 

ALTHOUGH  Mr.  Hunt's  name  is  not  found  in  the  list 
of  ministers  who  were  originally  assigned  to  the  Lu- 
zerne Presbytery  ;  although  he  never  sustained  the  relation 
of  pastor,  formally,  to  any  of  its  churches,  he  was  one  of 
the  most  significant  factors  in  establishing  and  extending 
the  work  and  prosperity  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery.  His 
important  career,  his  aggressive  and  advanced  work, 
which  in  some  directions  made  him  widely  known  not 
only  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  to  the  Christian 
public  generally,  all  this  together  with  his  many  official 
labors  in  the  Presbytery,  which  extended  to  so  many  of 
its  churches,  make  it  necessary  that  he  should  have  a 
prominent  place  in  its  history,  side  by  side  with  Webster, 
Dorrance  and  others,  who  saw  the  Presbytery  in  the  day 
of  its  birth.  Why  his  name  was  not  in  the  list  furnished 
the  General  Assembly  does  not  appear  in  the  record.  He 
had  been  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna 
and  an  active  member  of  the  committee  that  organized 
the  Lackawanna  church  a  few  months  before  the  action 
of  the  Assembly  in  1843.  He  may  have  been  absent  on 
one  of  his  extensive  temperance  lecturing  tours.  He  had 
already  acquired  the  title  of  "The  Apostle  of  Temper- 
ance." He,  however,  came  into  the  original  organization 
by  certificate  from  his  Presbytery,  and  was,  from  the 
beginning  of  its   work,    till    called    higher,    a   pillar   of 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  I25 

Strength  among  his  brethren  ;  always  able  and  ready  to  do 
delicate  and  needed  work,  whenever  there  was  a  call  for 
such  service.  He  was  in  the  best  sense,  a  Pastor  at 
Large,  sustaining  every  minister  whom  he  aided  and 
edifying  every  church  which  he  visited,  for  he  was  wise, 
prompt,  discreet,  and  self-sacrificing.  Very  many  of 
these  services  were  labors  of  love,  always  most  cheerfully 
rendered.  His  antecedents  were  not  Puritan,  were  not 
Scotch  or  Scotch-Irish,  nor  Huguenot.  The  question, 
therefore,  as  to  whence  he  came,  and  how  he  came,  as  a 
Presbyterian,  is  not  without  interest,  nor  without  a 
legitimate  place  here,  especially  as,  in  answering  these 
questions,  we  learn  how  Presbyterianism  w^as  introduced 
into  the  Old  Dominion,  from  whence,  having  taken  root, 
it  spread  itself  elsewhere.  Mr.  Hunt  not  only  came  to  us 
from  Virginia.  He  was  also  a  lineal  descendant  of  one 
of  the  very  first  settlers.  The  clergyman  of  that  name  who 
accompanied  Captain  John  Smith  to  the  Jamestown 
Colony,  was  of  course,  an  Episcopalian,  since  Episcopacy 
was  the  religion  of  the  early  Virginia  settlers,  established 
by  law  for  the  colony  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  as 
was  then  understood.  The  following  facts  as  to  the 
introduction  of  Presbyterianism  into  the  Mother  of  States, 
were  originally  published  in  the  "Evangelical  and 
Literary  Magazine",  edited  by  the  Rev.  John  Holt  Rice, 
D.  D.,  Presiding  Professor  of  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary  in  181 9.  They  were  communicated  to  Dr. 
Rice  by  the  Rev.  James  Hunt,  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  and  the  son  of  one  of  the  prime  movers  in 
planting  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Virginia,  Dr.  Rice 
vouches  for  the  reliability  of  the  Rev.  James  Hunt.  The 
article  from  Dr.   Rice's  Magazine  is  also  quoted  by  the 


126  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Rev.  Parke  P.  Flournoy,  in  his  history  of  the  Rockville 
and  Bethesda  Churches  in  Montgomery  County,  Mary- 
land. _These  churches  were  originally  one  organization, 
which  bore  the  name  of  Captain  John  Church  and  later 
Cabin  John.  The  Rev.  James  Hunt  was  pastor  of  that 
church.  Mr.  Flournoy's  history  of  these  churches,  which 
were  off-shoots  from  Captain  John  Church,  was  published 
in  1880,  by  the  "Messenger  Publishing  Company,  Balti- 
more, Md."  The  writer  is  indebted  to  this  published 
sermon  for  the  main  facts  with  reference  to  the  beginning 
of  the  Hanover  Presbytery  of  which  the  Rev.  Thomas 
P.  Hunt  is  a  production.  And  as  we  have  traced  the 
origin  of  some  other  elements  which  went  to  make  up  the 
Luzerne  Presbytery,  we  will  look  back  hastily  to  the 
Virginia  contribution,  which  seems  not  less  remarkable 
than  the  reviews  which  have  already  engaged  our 
attention. 

The  first  of  Mr.  Hunt's  line,  as  has  been  intimated, 
came  from  England,  and  came  an  Episcopalian,  the  first 
minister  in  the  Jamestown  Colony.  He  came  before 
Plymouth  Rock  was  discovered  and  was  a  good,  earnest 
and  faithful  preacher,  whose  memory  is  still  cherished. 
Since  the  writer  began  to  look  up  material  for  the  history 
of  Luzerne  Presbytery,  his  attention  has  been  called  to 
newspaper  articles  mentioning  an  honor  done  by  his 
contemporaries  to  ''the  good  Rector  (or  Chaplain) 
Hunt",  viz  :  the  placing  of  a  magnificent  memorial 
window  in  an  important  church  building. 

Bancroft,  in  his  history  of  the  Jamestown  Colony, 
says,  in  speaking  of  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  colonists 
to  exclude  Captain  John  Smith  from  the  company:  "As 
his  only  offence  consisted  in  the  possession  of  enviable 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  12/ 

qualities,  the  attempt  at  his  trial  was  abandoned,  and,  by 
'the  doctrine  and  exhortation'  of  the  sincere  Hunt,  the 
man  without  whose  aid  the  vices  of  the  colony  would  have 
caused  its  immediate  ruin  was  soon  restored  to  his 
station."* 

The  Rev.  Thomas  P.  Hunt  left  in  manuscript  an 
autobiography  from  which  his  daughter,  Miss  Susan  C. 
Hunt,  has  furnished  the  author  the  leading  facts.  He 
says,  "I  was  born  in  Charlotte  County,  Virginia,  Dec.  3, 
1794.  I  am  descended  from  a  long  line  of  God-fearing 
and  loving  ancestors.  So  far  as  can  be  traced  in  this 
country,  it  commenced  with  the  good  Chaplain  Hunt, 
who  came  to  this  country  with  Captain  John  Smith.  He 
returned  to  England  ;  but  one  of  his  sons  returned  to 
Virginia,  bringing  with  him  three  sons.  One  of  them 
remained  there  with  his  father,  and  I  am  descended  from 
the  Virginia  settlers. 

"My  great  grandfather,  James  Hunt,  was  one  of  the 
first  three  Presbyterians  in  Virginia." 

The  ministry  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Virginia 
Colony,  in  the  days  of  Mr.  Hunt's  great  grandfather, 
seems  not  to  have  been  up  to  the  standard  of  "the  good 
Chaplain  Hunt,"  and  at  that  time  there  was  no  other 
denomination  tolerated.  This  ancestor  of  Mr.  Hunt, 
finding  the  ministrations  of  the  established  church  without 
profit  to  him,  absented  himself  from  them.  This  subject- 
ed him  to  a  fine,  when  information  of  his  absence  from 
the  parish  church  was  laid  by  any  one  before  the  civil 
authorities.  Such  information  being  filed  against  him,  he 
and  three  other  gentlemen,  who  had  also  become  con- 
vinced   that  the   gospel    was  not    then    preached    in    its 

*See  Volume  I,  page  125, 


128  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

purity  in  the  parish  church,  were  fined  for  absence  on  the 
same  day.  These  men  had  acted  independently  of  each 
other.  The  absence  of  all  at  the  same  time  from  the 
regular  services  had  been  made  the  more  noticeable 
because  of  their  previous  regularity  and  standing  in  the 
community.  This  action  against  them  brought  them 
together,  and  they  naturally  conferred  with  each  other 
and  ultimately  co-operated  in  a  religious  movement.  For, 
while  they  submitted  to  the  penalty  for  non-attendance  at 
the  parish  church,  they  still  absented  themselves  from  the 
legal  services. 

Feeling  that  they  should  not  neglect  a  proper 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  that  some  form  of 
religious  worship  should  be  observed,  they  arranged  to 
meet  in  each  others  houses,  and  read  together  the 
Scriptures  and  such  other  religious  books  as  they  had 
among  them.  One  of  the  families  had  a  copy  of  Luther's 
commentary  on  Galatians.  This  volume  deeply  interested 
and  instructed  them  in  the  great  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith  alone.  There  does  not  seem  to  have  been  any 
effort  made  to  spread  dissent,  but  those  who  statedly  met 
for  such  religious  readings  and  inquiry  became  deeply 
interested  concerning  the  great  salvation,  and  many 
others  became  anxious  to  attend  the  readings.  It  also 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  authorities,  and  the  movers 
in  the  matter  were  formally  cited  to  appear  before  the 
Governor  and  Council  at  vvilliamsburg.  Before  setting 
out  for  the  place  of  trial  and  on  the  way  thither,  the 
question  as  to  what  they  should  declare  themselves  to  be 
in  religion  greatly  exercised  them.  They  had  practically 
turned  away  from  the  Parish  church,  or  the  church  of  the 
Colony.     To  what  had  they  turned  ?     They  did  not  seem 


PRESBYTERY   OF    LUZERNE.  1 29 

able  to  say.  They  had  some  thought  of  calling  them- 
selves Lutherans,  as  they  had  been  so  deeply  interested 
and  benefitted  by  Luther's  commentary  on  Galatians.  But 
they  had  noted  some  things  in  Luther's  writings  with  which 
they  did  not  agree.  One  of  the  four  men  went  alone  to 
Williamsburg,  and  on  the  way  thither  he  was  obliged  to 
ask  shelter  in  an  humble  home  from  a  heavy  rain  that 
was  falling,  which  was  accorded  him,  and  while  he  waited 
for  the  storm  to  pass  over,  his  attention  was  attracted  to 
an  old  book  on  a  dusty  shelf.  He  took  it  down  and 
read.  What  he  read  seemed  to  be  his  own  sentiments. 
He  found  them  embodied  in  a  systematic  form.  His 
state  of  mind  made  the  book  extremely  interesting,  so 
that  he  scarcely  noticed  the  termination  of  the  storm. 
When,  however,  he  found  that  he  must  resume  his 
journey,  he  asked  his  entertainer  if  he  would  sell  the 
book.  The  man  said  he  would  not,  but  if  he  really 
wanted  it,  he  could  have  it,  as  it  was  of  no  use  to  him  ; 
"it  was  not  worth  selling."*  It  was  an  old  Scotch 
Presbyterian  Confession  of  Faith,  and  our  anxious  traveler 
received  it  as  a  gift  from  heaven.  When  he  joined  his 
companions  at  Williamsburg,  we  are  told,  "  they  took  a 
private  room  and  tliere  deliberately  examined  the  book 
and  found  it  contained  exactly  the  system  of  doctrine 
which  they  believed,  and  though  not  so  well  under- 
standing the  Discipline,  they  did  not  so  cordially  approve 
that,  yet  they  unanimously  agreed  to  adopt  it  as  their 
Confession  of  Faith. ' '  Thus  they  were  prepared  to  define 
their  position  before  the  Governor  and  Council.  They 
presented  the  old  book,  found  on  the  way  by  one  of  their 
number,  as  setting  it  forth. 

♦This  man  may  have  been  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the  class  of  people  our 
church  is  trying  to  elevate — "The  White  Mountaineers  of  the  South." 


130  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Governor  Gooch,  who,  it  is  understood,  was  educated 
a  Presbyterian,  but  had,  for  some  reason,  conformed  to 
the  recognized  communion,  said  at  once  that  the  party 
were  Presbyterians,  and  that  under  English  law  they  were 
tolerated ;  but  the  Council  were  not  disposed  to  put  so 
liberal  a  construction  on  the  provisions  of  the  law 
operating  at  home,  and  were  very  bitter  toward  the 
culprits.  In  the  midst  of  the  exciting  discussion  which 
ensued,  a  terrific  storm  burst  forth.  The  sharp  and  vivid 
lightning,  with  its  instantaneous  and  appalling  thunder  in 
quick  succession,  subdued  the  noise  of  debate  and  the 
rancorous  feeling  of  the  Council,  so  that  when  the  storm 
subsided  the  non-conformists  were  dismissed  with  the 
charge  "not  to  make  disturbances  in  his  Majesty's  colony." 

This  question  of  toleration  remained  an  open  one  for 
a  long  time.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  who  was  the 
first  Presbyterian  brought  into  Virginia  regularly  to 
minister  to  the  congregation  which  originated  from  the 
men  who  were  on  trial  at  Williamsburg,  first  discussed 
it  with  the  Hon.  Peyton  Randolph  as  his  opponent,  who 
was  at  that  time  the  King's  Counsellor,  or  Attorney 
General.  Mr.  Davies'  able  argument  before  the  Court  is 
said  to  have  made  a  deep  impression,  and  was  even  the 
admiration  of  his  opponents.  Still  the  question  was  not 
settled.  For  afterwards,  when  Dr.  Davies  was  in  England 
as  the  agent  of  Princeton  College,  before  his  election  to 
its  presidency,  he  had  an  opportunity  to  bring  the 
question  personally  before  the  King,  as  to  whether  the  act 
of  toleration  prevailing  in  England  extended  to  the 
Virginia  Colony,  and  received  a  favorable  assurance  from 
his  Majesty.* 

*See  Sprag^e's  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  140. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  I3I 

The  four  planters  returned  to  their  homes,  confirmed 
rather  than  disturbed  in  their  sentiments  and  practices. 
They  continued  to  use  diligently  the  means  they  had  for 
their  spiritual  edification.  Not  fully  satisfied,  however, 
with  these,  they  sought  the  aid  of  an  authorized  minister, 
which  they  seem  to  have  been  more  encouraged  to  do  by 
their  interpretation  of  the  Providences  which  had  already 
conducted  them.  They  subsequently  obtained  the 
presence  and  assistance  of  a  Rev.  Mr.  Robinson,  a 
Presbyterian  minister  of  whom  they  had  heard  and  to 
whom  they  had  sent  a  delegation  with  instructions  to 
urge  him  to  visit  Hanover  and  preach  to  them,  if  they 
found  him  a  suitable  man.  Mr.  Robinson,  breaking 
away  with  difficulty  from  other  engagements,  spent  some 
time  among  the  awakened  inhabitants  of  Hanover  county, 
preaching  to  them  the  pure  gospel,  instructing  them  in 
proper  methods  of  worship  and  general  procedure,  and 
checking  tendencies  which  would  lead  astray  and  cause 
confusion  and  injury.  The  people  seem  to  have  been 
greatly  cheered  and  aided,  and  when  Mr.  Robinson  was 
about  to  leave  them,  urged  him  to  accept  remuneration 
for  his  services.  This  he  declined,  and  when  it  was 
pressed  upon  him,  he  finally  told  the  people  that  he 
would  take  their  offering  and  use  it  to  assist  a  worthy 
young  man,  then  studying  for  the  ministry,  who  needed 
help;  and  he  promised  to  send  the  young  minister  to 
them  when  he  had  completed  his  course  of  study ;  all  of 
which  he  did  in  due  time.  The  young  man  proved  to  be 
Samuel  Davies,  the  founder  of  the  Hanover  Presbytery, 
subsequently  President  of  Princeton  College,  a  prince 
among  preachers,  a  power  for  good  in  the  colonies,  a 
harbinger  of  the  coming   Republic  of  America.       The 


132  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

foregoing  sketch  shows  us  how  Presbyterianism  obtained 
a  foothold  in  Virginia. 

The  man  who  communicated  these  facts,  which  Dr. 
John  Holt  Rice  published  to  the  world  and  authenticated, 
was  the  grandfather  of  our  Mr.  Hunt  who,  to  quote  again 
from  his  autobiography,  says:  "My  grandfather,  the  Rev. 
James  Hunt,  who  died  in  1793,  was  pastor  of  the  Old 
Cabin  John  Church,  Montgomery  county,  Maryland.* 
My  father  was  William  Pitt  Hunt,  who  graduated  from 
Princeton,  and  was  a  tutor  there.  He  early  made  a 
profession  of  religion  and  intended  to  exchange  the 
practice  of  law  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel ;  but 
getting  over -heated  in  assisting  to  extinguish  a  fire  in 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  he  caught  cold  which  settled  upon 
his  lungs  and  consumption  soon  laid  him  in  the  tomb. 
My  father  died  when  I  was  three  years  old.  My  morning 
of  life  was  one  of  the  greatest  suffering  and  debility.  A 
violent  attack  of  whooping  cough,  with  severe  fever, 
followed  by  spinal  disease,  with  acute  nervous  pain,  then 
hip  disease  and  white  swelling,  left  me  deformed,  and  a 
cripple.  My  constitution  was  most  powerful  or  I  could 
not  have  endured  these  afflictions.  Severe  as  they  were, 
and  mortifying  as  the  result  once  was,  I  no  longer  look 
upon  them  in  any  other  light  than  that  of  the  richest 
blessing.  They  kept  me  chained,  as  it  were,  to  my 
mother's  side.  Her  watchful  eye  was  ever  over  me,  her 
tender  hand  always  on  me,  and  her  angel  influence 
always  around  me.  My  bouyant  spirit,  my  nervous 
strength,  my  indomitable  will  would  have  hurried  me  to 
destruction,    had    I    not    been    hampered,    trammelled, 

*Miss  Susan  C.  Hunt  informs  the  writer  that  she  and  her  sister  Mary 
visited  the  graves  of  their  great  grandfather  and  grandmother,  Ruth  Hunt, 
and  read  the  inscription  on  their  tomb  stones  in  the  "Burying  Ground" 
attached  to  the  Old  Cabin  John  Church,  in  1893. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 33 

restrained  as  I  was.  Even  with  all  these  restraints  and 
obstacles,  my  waywardness  and  desire  to  mingle  with  the 
wild,  and  out  dare  the  most  daring,  my  love  for  folly, 
frolic  and  sin,  often  led  me  astray. 

"It  is  some  comfort  to  know  that  she  lived  to  see 
that  her  labor  of  love  was  not  in  vain,  and  that  she  died 
in  the  full  belief  that  I  was  endeavoring  to  live  the  life  of 
faith,  and  would  remember  and  strive  to  practice  all  she 
taught  me. 

"My  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Col.  Joel  Watkins 
of  Charlotte,  Va.  But  few  women  excelled  her  in  vigor 
of  intellect  and  industry  in  its  cultivation.  Her  piety 
was  remarkable.  After  the  death  of  my  father,  she 
married  the  Rev.  Dr.  Moses  Hoge,  perhaps  the  most 
humble,  brave,  pious,  eloquent,  generous,  laborious 
preacher  of  his  age.  Dr.  Hoge  was  a  self-made  man. 
He  never  graduated  at  any  college,  but  he  died  President 
of  Hampden-Sidney  College,  and  Professor  of  Theology 
in  the  Union  Theological  Institute  of  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina.  Some  people  condemn  second  marriages,  but 
eternity  will  not  be  too  long  for  me  to  thank  God  for 
such  a  second  father  as  I  found  in  Dr.  Hoge.  Besides 
his  instruction  and  example,  his  position  and  reputation 
made  his  home  the  retreat  of  the  most  distinguished 
Divines  of  the  day.  There  were  Elijahs,  Elishas,  Joshuas, 
Pauls,  Peters  and  Timothys  in  those  days.  They  preached 
Christ  as  I  never  have  heard  Him  preached  since. 

"I  was  educated  at  Hampden-Sidney  College,  and 
graduated  in  1813.  I  taught  school  for  some  time,  and 
then  studied  theology  in  the  seminary,  or  what  was  then 
the  seminary  of  the  Hanover  Presbytery,  afterward  of  the 
Synod  of  Virginia,  and  finally  became  the  Union   Theo- 


134  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

logical  Seminary  of  the  Synods  of  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina.  Dr.  Hoge  dying,  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice  succeed- 
ed him.  I  was  in  the  seminary  under  both  these  men. 
They  were  both  pre-eminently  great,  in  their  own  way. 

"I  once  heard  Mr.  Lacey  preach  one  of  his  powerful, 
tender  sermons  on  the  Sufferings  of  Christ.  I  remember 
that  I  was  very  thoughtless  and  trifling  during  the 
discourse.  When  the  communion  table  was  spread,  a 
young  and  intimate  friend  of  mine  arose  and  took  his 
seat  with  those  who  Came  to  show  forth  the  death  of  Jesus 
until  He  come.  This  act  did  more  to  impress  my 
thoughtless  heart  than  all  the  sermon. 

"After  I  became  a  professor  of  religion,  I  had  to 
determine  on  my  future  pursuit  in  life.  One  of  my  class- 
mates, who  was  preparing  for  the  ministry,  died.  Dr.  J. 
H.  Rice  published  an  obituary  of  him  in  the  Evangelical 
Magazine.  In  it  was  asked  the  question,  'Who  will 
take  his  place  ?'  That  simple  question  made  a  deep  and 
more  determinate  impression  on  me,  as  to  my  future 
calling,  than  all  the  many  wise  writings  and  powerful 
appeals  I  had  consulted.  I  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Hanover,  Synod  of  Virginia,  at  Charlottes- 
ville, Albemarle  Co.,  1824.  After  I  was  licensed  I  went 
to  Petersburg  to  supply  Mr.  Rice's  pulpit  while  he  took  a 
respite  from  labor  that  was  wearing  him  out." 

Mr.  Hunt  spent  some  time  in  Brunswick  Co., 
Virginia,  and  while  there  was  ordained  to  the  full  work  of 
the  ministry.  From  the  beginning  of  his  public  ministry 
he  showed  an  interest  in  the  temperance  cause,  and  he 
himself  intimates  that  he  was  biased  in  that  direction  by 
the  earnest  instruction  of  his  theological  teacher,  Dr. 
Rice,  and  while  his  influence  as  a  preacher  was  great  and 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  135 

ever  increasing,  (for  he  always  secured  the  fixed  attention 
of  those  who  heard  him  and  always  gave  solid  and  evan- 
gelical instruction,  resulting  in  benefitting  multitudes,) 
yet  his  influence  in  preaching  the  gospel  of  temperance 
was  still  greater.  He  was  among  the  first  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  church  especially  to  the  giant  evil  of 
intemperance.  He  advocated  total  abstinence,  and  the 
duty  of  the  Christian  church  to  oppose  the  traffic  in 
intoxicating  drinks.  It  was  not,  however,  until  there 
seemed  to  be  a  divine  call  to  devote  the  main  energies  of 
his  life  to  the  cause  of  temperance,  indicated  by  the 
suffrage  of  his  brethren  and  the  marked  providence 
presenting  itself  in  his  way,  that  he  ceased  to  occupy 
the  pastorate. 

From  the  southern  part  of  Virginia,  where  his  earlier 
labors  were  put  forth,  he  was,  without  solicitation  on  his 
part,  or  previous  knowledge  of  any  movement  in  that 
direction,  invited  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Raleigh, 
N.  C.  Before  this  invitation  had  been  received,  Mr. 
Hunt  had  been  led  to  consider  his  relation  to  what  in  the 
past  was  known  as  "the  peculiar  institution  of  the  South". 
He  himself  inherited  considerable  property  in  slaves 
which,  if  conscience  an-d  the  tremendous  responsibilities 
that  such  possessions  entail  had  not  called  for  a  canvass 
of  the  questions  connected  with  slavery,  might  have 
afforded  him  the  means  of  easy  and  comfortable  subsis- 
tence. He  dreaded  the  responsibilities  of  maintaining 
the  relation  of  master  to  slaves,  and  as  the  result  of  these 
reflections,  made  arrangement  for  his  negroes  to  be 
liberated  and  to  be  colonized  to  the  young  Republic  of 
Liberia,  in  Africa.  He  then  needed  other  means  of 
subsistence  for  himself.      He  had  been  ordained  to  preac  h 


136  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

the  gospel,  and  possessed  the  "right  to  live  of  the 
gospel".  Of  this  right,  however,  he  seldom  through 
life  boasted,  but  the  Lord  cared  for  him  and  his.  And 
all  who  knew  Mr.  Hunt  were  made  heartily  to  believe 
that  he  loved  rather  to  do  good,  to  help  his  fellow  men, 
and  advance  the  cause  of  Christ  than  to  accumulate 
money. 

While  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  Mr.  Hunt  became  famous 
as  an  advocate  of  temperance.  In  the  public  prints,  his 
work  was  uniformly  described  "as  the  most  brilliant  and 
romantic  on  record.  No  Knight  errant  was  ever  braver 
or  more  chivalrous  than  this  bold  and  gifted  advocate  of  a 
cause  that  was  running  athwart  all  prejudices  and  customs 
of  the  community". 

He  was  appointed  agent  and  lecturer  of  the  first 
State  Temperance  Society  formed  in  North  Carolina, 
which  appointment  at  the  cost  of  much  sacrifice  of 
personal  and  social  comfort  and  ease,  he  accepted,  and 
successfully  stemmed  the  tide  of  prejudice  from  the  world, 
and  many  in  the  church  as  well. 

After  a  time  he  made  Fayetteville  his  headquarters, 
and  while  working  from  that  centre  began  the  work  of 
gathering  the  children  into  his  cold  water  army.  Having 
composed  a  very  expressive  poetical  pledge,  beginning, 
"I  do  not  think  I'll  ever  drink,  &c.",  and  enrolled 
multitudes — the  writer  among  the  rest  a  few  years  later, 
and  then  a  child  in  eastern  Pennsylvania.  The  pledge 
then  ran  : 

"We  little  children  think 

That  we  will  never  drink 

Whiskey,  brandy,  gin  or  rum, 

Or  anything  that  will  make  drunk  come." 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 3/ 

The  Sabbath  School  children  of  that  day  generally 
signed  the  declaration  of  their  purpose  wherever  Mr. 
Hunt  appeared  among  them  ;  and  he,  in  those  days,  was 
almost  ubiquitous.  No  arithmetic  will  ever  determine 
the  influence  of  that  movement  among  the  children,  nor 
Mr.  Hunt's  influence  in  shaping  popular  sentiment  on 
the  drink  question.  Wherever  he  was  heard  he  did  not 
fail  to  carry  every  audience  he  addreesed  with  him,  by  a 
public  vote  which  he  generally  called  for,  and  it  was 
cordially  given.  He  made  the  business  of  rum  selling 
"odious"  wherever  he  lectured.  Taking  Mr.  Hunt's 
whole  career  as  a  temperance  lecturer  and  preacher  of 
temperance,  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  other  one  man  in 
this  country  has  exerted  a  more  potent  influence  on  the 
temperance  question. 

The  year  1832  seems  to  have  been  an  eventful  one 
in  the  life  of  Mr.  Hunt.  We  find  he  was  installed  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Wilmington,  N.  C.  The 
same  year  he  is  commissioned  to  the  General  Assembly, 
which  met  in  Philadelphia,  which  was  the  standing  place 
of  meeting  from  1800  to  1835.  He  also  attended,  by 
appointment,  the  first  National  Temperance  Convention 
which  met  in  the  same  city  and  about  the  same  time. 
Mr.  Hunt  was  booked  for  an  address  which  he  de- 
livered, and  which  established  his  reputation,  as  a 
temperance  advocate,  north  of  Mason  &  Dixon's  line. 
It  is  probable  that  this  speech  made  him  ultimately  a 
member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  and  prepared  the 
way  for  much  temperance  work  in  the  North.  But  this 
was  not  formally  entered  upon  till  some  time  after  this 
date,  as  Mr.  Hunt  then  had  special  engagements  in  the 
South,  and  not  alone  with   his   church  in  Wilmington. 


138  PRESBVTEKY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Another  important  event  of  1842  was  a  temperance 
wedding,  which  we  will  allow  him  to  describe.  He 
says:  "In  Oct.,  1832,  I  attended  the  first  wedding 
I  was  ever  at  in  which  no  intoxicating  liquors  of  any 
kind  were  used.  It  was  the  happiest  and  most  pleasant 
wedding  I  ever  saw.  It  was  my  own.  Ann  Meade 
Feild,  daughter  of  Dr.  Richard  Feild,  of  Hobson's,  Bruns- 
wick Co.,  Virginia,  consented  that  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Plumer, 
then  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  should  unite  us  in  the  bonds 
of  matrimony.  He  did  so.  I  returned  with  my  bride 
to  Wilmington,  visiting  my  old  friends  at  Raleigh.  The 
kindness  of  the  people  of  Wilmington  to  my  wife,  and 
the  strong  attachments  and  friendships  she  formed  there, 
endeared  my  people  to  me  more  and  more." 

This  extract  seems  to  show  that  Mr.  Hunt's  wife 
was  one  of  the  kind  the  Lord  sends,  and  that  the  bonds 
of  which  he  speaks  were  never  galling.  The  friendships 
that  Mrs.  Hunt  elicited  were  not  all  in  Wilmington, 
nor  all  in  the  South,  nor  in  her  youth  ;  nobody  knew  her 
but  to  love  her  pure  and  uplifting  life, — her  intelligence 
and  uniform  testimony  to  the  power  of  the  gospel  to 
enhance  the  value  of  every  domestic  relationship  in  this 
world.  It  is  not  wonderful  that  the  children  of  such 
a  woman  "  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed,  her  husband  also, 
and  he  praiseth  her." 

During  Mr.  Hunt's  early  ministry,  the  Synod  of 
North  Carolina  requested  him  to  publish  his  little  book, 
''Bible  Baptist,"  which  was  received  with  great  favor, 
and  proved  helpful  to  maiiy  who  were  anxious  to  know 
just  what  the  Bible  does  teach  on  the  subject  of  baptism. 
It  called  forth  many  reviews  from  all  quarters.  The  book 
still  lives,  and  has  been  adopted  by  our  Board  of  Publica- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 39 

tion  as  one  of  its  standard  tracts.  Mr.  H.  did  not  write 
much  for  the  press,  but  enough  to  show  his  ability  in 
that  direction. 

In  1834,  he  went  North  in  the  interest  of  Donald- 
son's Academy,  near  Fayetteville.  As  a  result  of  this 
visit,  which  extended  as  far  north  as  the  city  of  New 
York,  he  received,  soon  after  his  return  to  Wilmington, 
from  that  city  such  an  invitation  to  return  thither  as 
he  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  decline.  He  was  wanted 
to  enter  upon  the  work  of  temperance  lecturing  and 
to  devote  all  his  time  and  energies  to  that  cause. 

After  obtaining  a  release  from  his  church  in  Wil- 
mington, N.  C,  he  removed  to  New  York,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks,  where  he  resided  till  1836,  when  he  took 
up  his  abode  in  Philadelphia,  from  which  city  he 
answered  the  constant  calls  to  lecture  in  widely  scattered 
places.  This  period  of  Mr.  Hunt's  life  was  one  of 
incessant  toil.  Of  it  he  says,  "  I  had  not  one  day's  rest 
for  eleven  years,  and  during  that  time  my  speaking 
averaged  one  and  a  half  a  day.  If  I  could  get  a  few 
hours  sleep  in  the  stage,  steamboat,  or  cars,  I  felt  re- 
freshed and  strong." 

Between  1826  and  1850,  he  writes  that  "he  had 
visited  twenty  states,  and  delivered  upwards  of  ten 
thousand  lectures  and  sermons." 

In  the  course  of  his  lectures,  Mr.  Hunt  was  called 
into  the  Wyoming  Valley.  He  was  charmed,  and  realized 
that  there  was  a  wonderful  future  for  that  part  of  Penn- 
sylvania. He  therefore  bought  a  farm  and  moved  his 
family  thither  in  1838.  Thus  he  became  significantly 
identified  with  the  development  of  every  beneficial  enter- 
prise,  especially  such  as  aimed   to  advance   the   moral, 


I40  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

intellectual  and  spiritual  interests  of  that  locality,  and 
of  our  common  country. 

While  he  was  in  Luzerne  and  adjoining  counties — 
a  power  second  to  none  other  in  the  temperance  reform — 
his  ministerial  brethren,  especially  those  of  his  own 
church,  found  in  him  a  most  valuable  coadjutor  in  pro- 
moting church  life  and  growth.  Fully  comprehending 
and  prophesying  the  speedy  increase  of  population  and 
business  in  the  general  region  in  which  he  had  settled, 
Mr,  Hunt  was  fired  with  zeal  for  making  the  region 
Christian  and  temperate ;  no  labor  was  regarded  as  too 
hard  or  too  expensive  when  demanded  in  order  to  attain 
these  ends.  And  many  a  community  within  the  bound- 
aries of  the  late  Luzerne  Presbytery  became  debtors 
to  him  to  an  amount  not  easily  computed.  As  will 
appear  in  the  sequel  of  this  history,  few  of  the  organized 
congregations  attained  church  life  without  his  help, 
and  the  number  was  still  fewer  of  those  which  were  not 
stimulated  in  their  infancy  by  his  earnest,  eloquent  in- 
structions and  admonitions  given,  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  cheerfully  and  without  ostentation. 

A  patriot  of  no  uncommon  ardor,  when  the  late 
unhappy  war  came,  menacing  the  integrity  of  the  most 
favored  country  the  sun  ever  shone  upon,  he  was 
found  with  the  union  army,  standing  for  the  stars  and 
stripes.  He  followed  them  to  the  very  place  of  his 
birth,  where  a  rival  flag  had  been  and  still  was  borne 
aloft  by  those  who  had  been  very  near  and  dear  to  him, 
and  with  whom,  in  many  things,  he  was  in  deepest  sym- 
pathy. Nor  is  it  bitterness  now,  but  the  loftiest  patriot- 
ism that  determines  his  attitude  and  enhances  the  value 
of  his  patriotic  services,  as  he  so  faithfully  and  gallantly 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  I4I 

ministers  to  the  spiritual  and  physical  wants  of  the 
defenders  of  the  old  flag  and  our  common  country. 
Although  more  than  sixty  years  old,  and  crippled,  no 
chaplain  did  better  service  or  was  more  the  idol  of  his 
regiment  than  Thomas  P.  Hunt.  Nor  were  his  bravery 
and  devotion  to  the  men  of  his  regiment  only  observed  in 
his  army  corps ;  they  were  noted  by  many  others  in  and 
outside  the  army.  One  writer  says:  "His  army  ex- 
periences are  thrilling,  and  I  am  told  by  those  who  knew 
him,  that  he  was  as  brave  as  a  lion  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duty.  He  was  seen  in  one  of  the  most  dreadful 
battles,  when  our  army  was  forced  to  retreat,  kneeling 
by  a  wounded  soldier  and  ministering  to  him,  despite 
the  perils  that  were  pressing  upon  him.  He  won  the 
unbounded  admiration  of  officers  and  soldiers  alike. ' ' 

The  fruits  of  Mr.  Hunt's  early  ministry  in  North 
Carolina  are  even  yet  pointed  out  in  one  case,  not  to 
speak  of  others.  An  established,  self-sustaining  church  is 
declared  by  an  honored  citizen  to  be  due  to  the  Sabbath 
School  which  he  started  more  than  forty  years  ago. 
Eternity  only  can  unfold  the  results  of  such  an  active, 
earnest  life. 

It  is  impossible  properly  to  characterize  Mr.  Hunt's 
temperance  work.  The  methods  he  employed  were  his 
own.  Nor  was  it  necessary  for  him  to  take  out  a  patent 
for  them,  since  nobody  else  could  use  them.  They  were 
effective  and  versatile.  He  seemed  to  be  ready  for  any 
emergency  that  he  encountered.  He  maintained  perfect 
self-control.  He  could  still  the  most  turbulent  audience, 
and  never  failed  to  turn  the  laugh  on  any  one  who 
contradicted  or  criticised  him  while  speaking.  A  man, 
displeased  at  something  he  said,  once  called  him  "an  old 


142  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

dog."  He  responded,  "Yes,  I  am  an  old  dog.  If  you 
live  long  enough,  you  will  be  an  old  dog,  but  now  you 
are  only  a  puppy."  He  was  a  genius,  with  lofty 
principles,  backed  up  by  an  energy  seldom  equalled. 

His  useful  life  terminated  October,  1876,  our 
national  centennial  year,  and  six  years  after  the  Luzerne 
Presbytery  ceased  to  be.  It  had  been  dear  to  him,  as  to 
all  its  founders  and  friends.  With  characteristic  fidelity, 
he  had  gone  to  Philadelphia  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the 
Synod  to  which  he  then  belonged,  though  less  at  home  in 
Philadelphia  Synod  than  in  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey. 
He  and  his  brethren  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery  dearly 
loved  the  old  irenic  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  but  they  no 
doubt  easily  coalesced  with  the  solid,  faithful  and 
agressive  Synod  into  which  the  re-union  of  1870  had 
brought  them,  at  the  time  their  Presbytery  was  dropped 
from  the  roll. 

Mr.  Hunt  was  only  able  to  be  present  at  the  opening 
of  Synod.  He,  however  attended,  on  the  day  following, 
the  unveiling  of  the  Witherspoon  statue.  He  was 
generally  an  active  member  of  ecclesiastical  meetings,  was 
always  heard  with  interest  and  deference,  sometimes  with 
dread  by  such  as  were  wanting  in  zeal  in  the  cause  of 
temperance  which  was  so  dear  to  him. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Hunt's  sickness,  he  preached  a 
temperance  sermon  in  the  Tabor  church,  on  Sabbath. 
It  was  his  last.  His  public  services  which  had  been  so 
numerous,  so  widely  rendered,  so  effective,  and  so  well 
received,  ended  in  that  Philadelphia  church.  None  who 
ever  heard  him  forgot  him,  or  forgot  all  they  heard  him 
say.  With  those  to  whom  Mr.  Hunt  preached  that  was 
scarcely    possible.       A  wonderfully   active,    unique   and 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 43 

effective  career  ended  with  that  last  sermon,  on  the  text 
found  in  I  Tim.  4:4.     After   preaching,  he  returned  to 
the    house    of  his    married    daughter,    Mrs.    Edward    B. 
Twaddell,  whom  he  was  visiting  in  Philadelphia.     After 
this   his   health    failed    gradually.        The    hopes    of    his 
physician,    founded    on  his  patient's  strong  constitution 
and  cheerful  disposition,  were  not  realized.      On  the  5th 
of  December,  1876,  he  was  not,  for  God  had  taken  him. 
A     little     more    than    a    year    before,     September     11, 
1875,  his  cherished  and  beloved  wife  had  preceded  him 
to  the  better    land.     Not    long   separated,    their   mortal 
remains  rest    in    the  Wilkes-Barre  cemetery.      The  Rev. 
Robert   Adair   and    Drs.    W.    P.    Breed    and    McCook 
conducted    private    services     in    Philadelphia,     and     in 
Wilkes-Barre  a  more  formal  funeral  service  was  held  in 
the  First  Presbyterian  church,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Rev.  H.  H.  Swift,  the  pastor  of  the  family.     There  were 
present  and  participating  in  the  services,  the  Rev.  C.  R. 
Lane,  who  preached  the  sermon.   Revs.   H.   H.   Welles, 
F.  B.  Hodge,  N.  G.  Parke,  and  S.   C.  Logan.     Some  of 
these  brethren  knew  Mr.   Hunt  better  than  others,   but 
all    loved    him    and    mourned    his    loss.       Devout    men 
carried  his  unconscious  body  to  its  burial,  and  lamented 
the  termination  of  a  life  that  has  been  so  full  of  activity 
and  usefulness  to  the  very  last. 

The  immediate  family  left  at  his  departure  consisted 
of  four  daughters,  earnest,  active,  accomplished  Christian 
ladies.  The  eldest.  Miss  Susan  C.  Hunt,  has  unsurpassed 
missionary  zeal.  She  is  especially  interested  in  and 
helpful  to  Home  missionaries  in  the  great  west,  and 
has  been  very  influential  in  interesting  others  in  like 
agencies. 


144  PRKSBYTEKY  OF  LUZERNE, 

The  writer  has,  in  the  course  of  a  long  Home 
missionary  career,  often  been  cheered  by  the  timely 
co-operation  afforded  him  in  emergencies,  in  forwarding 
important  missionary  enterprises  through  her  personal 
acts  or  agency.  More  than  once  failure  would  have  been 
incurred  in  imjjortant  undertakings  but  for  her  efficient 
aid  at  the  critical  time.  Miss  Susan  and  her  sister  Anna, 
the  widow  of  Andrew  J.  Welles,  who  died  many  years 
ago,  and  Mrs.  Caspar  R.  Gregory,  the  widow  of  the  Rev. 
Caspar  R.  Gregory,  the  lamented  pastor  of  the  Memorial 
Presbyterian  church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  live  in  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Mr.  Hunt  had  purchased  a  home  for  his  family 
in  that  city  some  four  years  before  his  death,  and  they 
continue  to  occupy  that  house,  and  are  efficient  members 
of  the  Memorial  church. 

Ruth  Hall,  the  third  daughter,  married  Mr.  S.  H. 
Hibler,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  but  died  in  1866.  Lucy  Jane 
married  Mr.  Edward  B.  Twaddell ;  they  live  in  West 
Philadelphia.  Mary  Elizabeth  Watkins  married  Mr. 
George  C.  Rippard  of  Wilkes-Barre  ;  they  now  live  in 
Baltimore,  Md. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  J.  Welles  had  two  children,  viz  : 
Mrs.  Caspar  R.  Gregory,  and  Albert,  who  resides  in 
Scranton  and  is  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  High 
School  in  Scranton.  Another  grandson  of  Mr.  Hunt  is 
a  medical  student  in  Philadelphia.  This  young  man 
bears  the  name  of  his  grandfather,  Thomas  P.  Hunt. 


X. 

LACKAWANNA  VALLEY. 
THE  REV.  NATHAN  GRIER  PARKE,  D.  D. 

THIS  organization,  as  we  have  already  shown,  was 
constituted  by  the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna  more 
than  a  year  before  the  erection  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne,  and  had  for  its  field  the  entire  valley  of  the 
Lackawanna,  except  what  was  covered  by  the  Carbon- 
dale  church.  The  settlements  at  that  time  were  sparse, 
and  the  aggregate  population  small.  The  territory 
yielded  but  a  meagre  living  to  the  inhabitants,  but  the 
resources  of  the  valley  are  at  this  time  known,  and  are 
attracting  men  and  money  for  their  development. 

To  meet  this  change,  in  the  spring  of  1844,  the 
pastor  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church,  who  still  had  a 
fatherly  regard  for  the  wants  of  that  extended  part  of  his 
field  for  which  the  Lackawanna  church  was  organized,  was 
looking  about  earnestly  for  a  suitable  man  to  take  the 
pastoral  charge  of  it,  and  had  fixed  his  eye  upon  Mr.  J. 
W.  Sterling,  a  member  of  his  own  church  who  had  taught 
in  Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  and  was  now  completing  his 
theological  course  in  Princeton.  Mr.  Sterling  had  made 
temporary  engagements  to  act  as  tutor  in  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  which  he  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  abandon 
at  once,  but  being  interested  in  the  field  and  disposed  to 
take  up  the  work  proposed,  he  used  his  influence  to  have 


146  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

it  supplied  until  he  could  himself  take  hold  of  it.  He  in- 
duced a  son  of  the  manse,  a  Seminary  classmate,  to 
undertake  the  work  which  had  been  offered  him,  viz  : 
Nathan  Grier  Parke,  a  suggestive  name  to  such  as  are 
familiar  with  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
in  this  country.  Mr.  Parke's  home  was  in  York  county. 
Pa.,  near  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Maryland  line.  His 
father,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parke,  was  an  able,  influential 
minister  and  life-long  pastor  of  the  ''Slate  Ridge  "  Pres- 
byterian church,  which  has  become  the  mother  of  several 
churches.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Parke  maintained  an  Academy 
also  at  Slate  Ridge.  This  school  made  at  least  one  State 
Governor  and  United  States  Senator,  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood,  of  Iowa.  The  writer  also  found,  while  a  citizen 
of  Iowa,  that  the  influence  of  another  ministerial  school 
in  the  bounds  of  the  Susquehanna  Presbytery,  gave  Iowa 
another  Governor.  This  was  the  Hartford  school,  which 
was  an  efficient  cause  leading  C.  C.  Carpenter  to  the 
exalted  office  which  he  occupied,  but  more  by  induction 
than  by  actual  personal  training.  The  parents  of  young 
Carpenter  both  died  while  he  was  a  mere  child,  but  they 
and  his  older  brothers  had  been  led,  by  the  influences  and 
instructions  which  had  been  brought  to  bear  upon  them 
by  this  institution  of  learning,  to  highly  prize  education. 
Young  Cyrus  had  imbibed  from  this  home  atmosphere 
that  which,  as  the  writer  knows,  caused  him  to  make 
heroic  struggles  to  gain  knowledge, — an  effect  certainly 
traceable  to  the  noble  work  of  the  Rev.  Lyman  Richard- 
son and  his  brothers  at  Hartford  Academy. 

Senator  Kirkwood,  who  received  the  training  in 
early  life  to  which  he  directly  attributed  all  his  success  in 
the  world,  said  to  the  writer,  when  speaking  of  the  im- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE,  1 47 

portance  of  environments,  "  It  is  a  good  thing  for  a  boy 
to  be  brought  up  in  the  family  of  a  Presbyterian  elder,  if 
he  is  able  to  stand  it.  It  was  good  for  me;"  alleging 
that  without  the  training  to  which  he  had  been  subjected, 
he  never  would  have  reached  the  honorable  positions 
which  he  had  occupied.  He  had  then  retired  from  public 
life.  At  the  same  time  he  related  an  incident  which  took 
place  at  Slate  Ridge  in  his  youth.  In  that  community 
innovations  were  not  readily  received  or  adopted.  It 
seems,  however,  some  were  more  rigid  than  others.  For 
in  the  matter  of  church  music,  there  was  a  desire  on  the 
part  of  some,  principally  the  young,  to  introduce  new 
tunes,  from  time  to  time.  On  one  occasion,  one  of  the 
leaders  in  singing  introduced  a  new  tune,  whereupon  one 
of  the  elders,  a  Mr.  Talbot,  arose  and  trotted  out  of  the 
house.  Henceforth  the  young  people  called  that  tune 
"Talbot's  Trot."  Sometime  afterwards,  just  as  another 
new  tune  was  beginning  to  attract  attention,  elder  Kirk- 
wood  observed,  through  the  window,  that  his  horses  had 
become  entangled  in  their  harness,  and  left  the  house 
more  rapidly  than  elder  Talbot  had  done.  Therefore  the 
second  new  tune  was  named  "  Kirkwood's  Canter."  It  is 
from  this  community,  where  innovations  were  somewhat 
restrained  by  careful  conservatism,  that  our  young  mis- 
sionary, mounted  upon  a  young  horse,  the  gift  of  his 
father,  turns  his  course  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, bearing  with  him  the  paternal  blessing.  While  he 
leaves  a  Christian  home,  he  carries  with  him  its  genial, 
sanctified  atmosphere,  which  has  been  retained  through 
the  trying  days  of  College  and  Seminary  life.  Youthful, 
hopeful,  patient,  he  goes  forth,  not  knowing  all  the  Lord 
had  in  store  for  him,  cheerfully  following  the   cloud  and 


148  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

trusting  the  guide.  While  the  young  missionary  looked 
forward  with  hope,  he  looked  back  with  gratitude  to  his 
Christian  home  and  his  careful  training.  Especially  has 
he  ever  been  ready  to  arise  and  called  her  blessed  who 
had  so  lovingly  cared  for  him  and  trained  him  for  his 
future  career.  So  also  with  all  her  children.  This 
mother,  revered  by  her  children,  and  indeed  by  all  who 
knew  her,  was  also  a  child  of  the  manse.  Her  father,  the 
Rev.  Nathan  Grier,  D.  D.,  one  of  the  early  graduates  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  was  pastor  of  the  Brandy- 
wine  Manor  church.  Of  him.  Dr.  David  McConaughy 
says  in  his  sketch  of  his  life,  "Dr.  Grier  was  not  only 
eminently  honored  of  God  as  a  pastor  in  his  congre- 
gation, and  as  a  faithful  and  very  acceptable  preacher  of 
the  Gospel  in  the  churches  generally,  but  had  an  im- 
portant instrumentality  in  directing  and  aiding  young 
men  in  their  studies  preparatory  to  the  gospel  ministry." 
This  was  before  the  organization  of  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  His  own  sons  became  ministers.  The 
younger  of  the  two  succeeded  him  as  pastor  at  the  Forks 
of  the  Brandywine.  The  father  and  the  son  both  spent 
their  entire  ministerial  lives  in  that  one  congregation. 
He  had  three  daughters  ;  two  of  these  married  ministers, 
namely,  Mrs.  White  and  Mrs.  Parke.  The  other  married 
a  physician,  Dr.  Thompson.  All  of  them  were  highly 
useful  and  greatly  honored,  especially  by  the  piety  and 
usefulness  of  their  children.  As  we  have  already  seen 
God's  covenant  honored  in  the  families  which  have 
passed  under  our  notice,  so  in  this  one  and  its  extended 
branches  yet  to  be  noticed. 

Mrs.   Parke  seems  to  have  been  an  eminently  wise 
and  prudent   mother,   whose  influence  and  prayers  her 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  I49 

son,  Nathan  Grier,  ever  felt  and  remembered  with  the 
deepest  gratitude.  From  the  Academy  at  Slate  Ridge 
he  had  been  sent  by  his  parents  to  Jefferson  College, 
then  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Mathew  Brown,  whose 
memory  is  so  revered  by  his  students.  His  college  life 
seems  to  have  been  tranquil  and  prosperous.  So  also  the 
Princeton  Seminary  course,  which  was  completed  in  the 
spring  of  1844,  he  receiving  the  regular  certificate  of 
graduation.  Mr.  Parke  had  been  licensed  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Donegal,  April,  1843,  at  Columbia,  Pa. 

After  a  brief  visit  to  the  home  of  his  youth,  Mr, 
Parke  was  carried  upon  his  faithful  steed  to  the  home  of 
Dr.  Dorrance,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  arrived  about 
the  first  day  of  June.  The  pastor  was  in  attendance  at 
the  General  Assembly,  and  the  young  missionary  supplied 
his  pulpit  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  June.  The  next 
Sabbath  found  Mr.  Parke  in  Pittston,  then  a  small  and 
unimportant  village,  near  the  confluence  of  the  Lacka- 
wanna with  the  Susquehanna,  and  therefore  at  the 
southern  entrance  of  the  Lackawanna  Valley  and  northern 
termination  of  the  Wyoming  Valley,  a  strategic  point, 
the  advantages  of  which  were  but  faintly  foreshadowed  at 
that  time.  It  was,  however,  one  point  designed  to  be 
embraced  in  the  operations  of  the  little  church  which  had 
been  organized  some  6  or  8  miles  up  the  Lackawanna 
Valley,  the  name  of  which  it  received.  This  gives  an 
idea  of  the  extent  of  the  field  our  young  missionary 
was  about  entering.  Assuming  that  the  central  point  had 
been  selected  for  its  organization,  namely  Scranton,  and 
that  it  was  to  be  spread  out  nine  miles  in  every  direction, 
this  fact  assumed,  Mr.  Parke  entered  upon  a  three 
months'    engagement    to   supply  the   place   of  another. 


150  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

That  engagement  extended  to  more  than  a  half  a  century, 
and  the  little  church  became  a  mother  church,  the  centre 
and  source  of  life  and  nourishment  to  other  outlying 
communities.  In  tracing  the  history  of  what  was 
originally  the  Lackawanna  Church  under  the  pastorate  of 
one  man,  we  have  indeed  a  theme  of  no  little  magnitude. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  organization  of  the 
Lackawanna  Church  by  the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna, 
February,  1842,  composed  of  the  Presbyterians  scattered 
over  almost  the  entire  Lackawanna  Valley,  of  which  one 
man  had  the  pastoral  oversight,  until  the  Scranton 
Church  was  organized  in  1848,  when  the  field  was 
divided. 

The  original  population,  or  the  greater  part  of  it, 
was  similar  to  that  which  occupied  the  Wyoming  Valley. 
Afterwards  a  considerable  element  came  into  the  Lacka- 
wanna Valley  from  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  d  counties  south  in  Pennsylvania,  so  that  at 
the  time  Mr.  Parke  entered  the  Lackawanna  Valley,  the 
population  had  become  more  mixed ;  yet  it  was  a 
population  that  seemed  to  have  a  general  respect  for 
sacred  things.  Mr.  Parke  says,  upon  the  authority  of 
Hon.  Charles  Miner,  historian  of  the  Wyoming  Valley, 
"In  Pittston  the  leading  families  were  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  the  Blanchards,  Browns,  Bennetts,  Silbeys, 
Marcys,  Benedicts,  St.  Johns,  and  Swoyers,  not  omitting 
the  gallant  Cooper."  Many  of  those  with  whose  names 
we  became  familiar  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  vicinity  are 
found  later  in  the  Lackawanna  Valley. 

In  an  early  day  a  number  of  Baptist  families  found 
their  way  to  Pittston  and  vicinity,  among  them  were  the 
Giddings,   Benedicts  and  Blanchards.     The  first  church 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  I5I 

organized  in  Pittston  was  a  Baptist  Church,  as  early  as  1 7  76. 
The  people  composing  it  were  principally  from  Orange 
County,  New  York.  The  organization,  however,  soon  scat- 
tered, or  was  abandoned,  for  the  Baptists  of  Pittston  after- 
wards are  found  associated  with  the  church  of  Abington, 
the  sub-strata  of  which  consisted  of  emigrants  from  Rhode 
Island.  In  1844  a  Baptist  minister,  familiarly  known  as 
Elder  Mott,  resided  in  Hyde  Park,  now  a  part  of  the  city 
of  Scranton.  He  had  appointments  for  the  alternate 
weeks  at  Pittston,  which  was  the  only  regular  service  held 
there.  While  there  were  but  three  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  at  that  time  in  Pittston,  Mr.  Parke 
found  a  Sabbath  School  conducted  by  a  truly  competent 
business  man,  who  has  been  up  to  this  date  an  active, 
earnest  and  universally  esteemed  Christian  man,  of 
extensive  influence,  still  a  citizen  of  Pittston  and  pillar 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  not  only  in  Pittston  and 
vicinity,  but  in  the  church  at  large  as  well,  viz.,  Theodore 
Strong,  a  younger  brother  of  the  late  Chief  Justice 
William  Strong. 

Several  other  Sabbath  Schools  had  been  previously 
started  in  different  places  in  the  Lackawanna  Valley,  e.  g., 
the  school  at  Providence  was  started  by  Isaac  Hart, 
father  of  Professor  John  S.  Hart.  He  resided,  in  1820, 
near  Providence,  and  was  a  school  teacher  and  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace.     He  subsequently  removed  to  Pittston,  and 

in  1825  established  a  Sabbath  School  there 

''The  first  Sabbath  School  in  Pittston  township  was 
established  in  the  old  log  school  house  on  the  premises  of 
Peter  Winters,  Esq.,  four  and  a  half  miles  south  of 
Pittston,  by  Miss  Mary  Bowman,  who  superintended  the 
same,  assisted  by  Messrs.  Jphn  and  Lord  Butler."    Squire 


152  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Hart  subsequently  moved  further  down  the  Susquehanna, 
nearer  Wilkes-Barre,  on  Laurel  Run.  While  he  resided 
at  this  place,  Mary  Gardner,  afterwards  Mrs.  W.  C. 
Gildersleeve,  Susan  Mitchell  and  Mary  Bowman,  with 
other  ladies  from  Wilkes-Barre,  became  interested  in 
John  S.  Hart,  the  son  of  Squire  Hart,  and  encouraged 
him  to  prepare  for  college  with  a  view  to  entering  the 
ministry.  To  the  Pittston  Sabbath  School,  and  the 
devoted  Christian  ladies  who  conducted  it,  Professor 
Hart  often  referred  with  gratitude  in  his  mature  life."* 
The  church  and  the  cause  of  Christian  education,  as  well 
as  Prof.  Hart,  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  these  pious 
ladies. 

Incidentally  we  have  been  led  nearer  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  there  is  no  impropriety  in  looking  in  that 
direction  again  from  the  Lackawanna,  for  it  was  from 
thence  the  influence  had  come  which  had  been  preparing 
the  way  for  the  establishment  of  the  new  centre  of  life 
and  power  we  are  to  describe.  We  have  already  seen 
that  until  the  Lackawanna  Church  had  been  constituted, 
February,  1842,  the  pastors  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Church 
generally  regarded  the  Lackawanna  Valley  as  a  part  of 
their  pastoral  charge.  The  Sabbath  Schools  we  have 
referred  to,  and  others,  owed  their  origin  to  the  labors, 
especially  of  pastors  Hoyt,  Gildersleeve,  and  Dorrance, 
labors  which  were  abundant  (in  view  of  all  things)  in 
this  new  field  we  are  entering,  and  which  prepared  the 
way  for  the  new  departure  soon  to  be  made  by  our  young 
missionary. 

It  is  proper  that  the  efficient  aid  rendered  to  Dr. 
Dorrance  in  caring  for  his  outposts,  especially  that  which 

*Rev.  N.  G.  Parke's  Historical  Sermon. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 53 

was  so  abundantly  and  freely  rendered  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  P.  Hunt,  in  this  and  in  other  parts  of  the  new 
Presbytery,  should  be  noted,  and  from  time  to  time 
young  men,  as  Messrs.  Thomas  Owen  and  John  Turbitt, 
had  under  Dr.  Dorrance's  supervision  done  more  or  less 
preaching  during  their  probation  in  this  general  region. 
The  Rev.  Oren  Brown  may  also  have  put  in  a  part  of  his 
time  in  this  section  of  the  Presbytery,  but  as  far  as  we 
can  ascertain  his  time  was  mostly  devoted  to  Falls 
and  Northmoreland  Churches.  After  the  organization 
of  the  Lackawanna  Church,  Mr.  Charles  Evans  was 
employed  more  definitely  for  a  part  of  his  time  in  this 
valley.  Now,  however,  Mr.  Parke's  labors  were  designed 
to  cover  all  the  ground,  as  he  informs  us  in  a  historical 
sermon,  referring  to  the  points  occupied.  He  says,  ''I 
was  expected  to  preach  once  in  two  weeks  in  Pittston,  and 
as  often  in  Scranton.  Then  I  was  expected  to  preach  in 
Providence  and  Hyde  Park,  and  Taylorville,  and  the 
Plains,  and  in  Newton  and  Abington  as  often  as  I  could 
find  it  convenient  to  do  so."  No  contraction  of  this 
extended  field  was  made  till  the  spring  of  1848.  Upon 
this  work  we  find  him  entering  on  the  ninth  of  June, 
1844,  in  the  little  Red  School  House  in  the  little  village 
of  Pittston. 

There  was  then  set  before  him  an  open  door  which 
he  cheerfully  and  hopefully  entered,  in  the  name  of  the 
Master.  Not  many  greeted  him  at  first,  but  he  was 
cordially  welcomed  by  a  few  choice  spirits.  Friendships 
were  then  formed  which  lasted  through  the  long  drawn 
out  three  months  of  Dr.  Parke's  ministry.  To  these 
friends  very  many  more  were  added,  and  few,  if  any, 
estranged,  by  the  amiable   young    minister,   who    never 


154  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

became  old,  in  feelings,  yet,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
did  not  appear  quite  so  boyish  as  in  1844. 

The  Lackawanna  Church  was  scarcely  conscious  of 
church  life  when  Mr.  Parke  came  into  its  bounds,  through 
the  agency  of  Dr.  Dorrance  acting  for  the  Presbytery 
and  for  the  church  recently  organized.  Therefore  he 
had  not  received  a  call  from  the  people,  backed  up  by  a 
promise  of  support.  Nor  had  the  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions  (such  was  the  corporate  name  of  the  Board  at 
that  time)  held  out  encouraging  promises  of  support. 
One  hundred  dollars  it  had  promised.  The  young 
minister  having  no  entangling  alliances,  was  not  anxious 
about  the  question  of  support,  and  there  was  a  sentiment 
in  his  field,  although  as  yet  animating  few,  that  the 
Lord's  servants  should  be  provided  for  while  doing  His 
work.  The  first  year,  however,  less  than  one  hundred 
dollars  in  money  was  contributed  on  the  field.  Mr. 
Parke  was  never  heard  to  complain,  nor  was  he  ever 
known  to  want.  Among  other  good  results  of  his  long 
pastorate,  a  wholesome,  generous  sentiment  was  developed 
in  his  people  with  regard  to  the  proper  provision  for 
maintaining  the  means  of  grace  among  themselves,  and 
the  duty  of  aiding  in  sending  the  gospel  where  its  divine 
benefits  Avere  not  so  well  know'n  as  to  be  appreciated. 

Taking  Pittston  as  the  starting  point,  let  us  follow 
Mr.  Parke,  in  1844,  around  his  circuit.  The  services, 
beginning  at  10:30,  a.  m.,  have  closed.  We  start  up  the 
Lackawanna  three  miles  and  a  half,  dine  with  Mr. 
Atherton,  return  half  a  mile  and  attend  services  at  a 
school  house  in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  knoAvn  as 
Taylorville,  where  another  service  is  held  at  3  p.  m. 
Then  follow   the  river  some   four   or  five    miles    further 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  I55 

towards  its  source,  over  densely  shaded  and  rough  roads 
to  near  the  mouth  of  Roaring  Brook  where  the  forest  is 
somewhat  subdued ;  for  efforts  have  been  made  there  to 
mine  coal  and  make  iron,  and  quite  a  little  village  has 
sprung  into  life.  This  is  "Slocum  Hollow,"  where  a  few 
choice  spirits  are  met.  We  are  cordially  received  and 
entertained,  and  at  the  regular  evening  hour  another 
service  is  held,  with  an  intelligent  little  congregation, 
observing  all  the  proprieties  of  an  older  community  of 
Christians.  We  worship  in  a  little  union  church 
building,  which  afterwards  passed  into  the  possession  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  brethren,  but  by  just  what 
process  is  not  a  matter  of  record.  The  night  is 
pleasantly  spent  in  the  Hollow,  among  friends.  On 
Monday,  all  necessary  pastoral  work  is  attended  to  before 
returning  to  the  new  found  home  of  the  young  minister. 
The  next  Sabbath,  the  work  is  begun  at  Slocum 
Hollow.  After  the  first  service  and  a  hasty  dinner,  the 
minister  mounts  his  horse  and  leaves  the  river,  turning 
his  face  towards  the  mountain  westward,  and  by  a  bridle 
path  scales  the  Moosic  range.  Both  the  ascent  and 
descent  are  abrupt,  but  the  spirited,  steady-footed  steed 
quickly  makes  the  passage,  and  at  the  end  of  about  nine 
miles  another  service  at  3:30  p.  m.  is  held  at  the 
*Newton  Centre  school  house;  and  thence  the  mounted 
minister  makes  his  way  to  Pittston,  the  place  of 
beginning,  and  at  7:30  holds  another  service.  The  next 
week  with  Pittston  and  Slocum  Hollow,  Providence  is 
perhaps  taken  in,  and  then  Hyde  Park,  and  Abington, 
some  five  miles  northwest  of  Scranton,  or  rather  Slocum 
Hollow,  for  Scranton  had  not  yet  been  born. 

*This  is  the  FaUstown  church,  afterwards  changed  to  Newton. 


156  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

At  this  time,  no  house  of  worship  had  been  erected 
by  any  denomination,  except  the  little  union  church  at 
Scranton,  and  perhaps  a  Baptist  church  at  Abington. 

The  Pennsylvania  canal  had  reached  Pittston  a  short 
time  before,  and  the  coal  trade  was  stimulated.  The 
Butler  and  Pennsylvania  Coal  Companies  were  already  in 
operation,  and  other  companies  were  soon  formed.  The 
population  began  to  increase  rapidly.  Of  the  thirty 
members  who  were,  in  Feb.,  1842,  organized  as  the 
Lackawanna  Presbyterian  church,  five  of  these  seem  to 
have  resided  in  Pittston,  viz.,  Mrs.  Giddings,  her  sister 
Fanny  McCalpin,  James  Helm,  Sarah  Blackman,  and 
Sarah  Austin.  It  was  soon  made  evident  to  Mr.  Parke 
that  that  point  was  to  become  to  him  his  most  important 
centre  of  operations,  and  measures  were  soon  inaugurated 
for  the  erection  of  a  Presbyterian  church  there.  The 
work  was  carried  to  completion  during  the  summer  of 
1846.  A  neat,  comfortable  brick  building  was  erected 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  village,  and  dedicated  free 
from  debt,  the  cost  being  about  $2,000.  Rev.  Dr. 
David  X.  Junkin  preached  the  dedication  sermon.  The 
Rev.  T.  L.  Cuyler,  then  doing  his  first  preaching  at 
Kingston,  was  present  at  the  service. 

Mr.  Parke  was  ordained  by  the  Luzerne  Presbytery 
July  7th,  1846,  as  an  evangelist,  and  was  formally 
installed  pastor  of  the  Lackawanna  church  in  1847.  In 
1848  the  field  was  divided  by  the  organization  of  the 
Harrison  church.  The  name  Harrison  had  been  given 
to  Slocum  Hollow,  but  was  soon  after  changed  to 
Scranton. 

This  new  organization  was  separated,  ipso  facto,  from 
the  Lackawanna  church,  and  possessed  all  the  functions 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 


157 


of  a  local  church.  Mr.  Parke,  of  course,  remained 
pastor  of  the  rest  of  the  field,  but  the  new  church  invited 
him  to  continue  as  its  stated  supply  through  the 
remainder  of  the  current  year,  which  he  did. 

About  this  time,  by  the  action  of  the  Presbytery, 
the  name  of  the  Lackawanna  church  was  changed  to  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittston,  and  was  regularly 
incorporated. 

Formal  articles  of  incorporation  were  adopted  by  the 
Pittston  church  in  1848,  in  the  summer  of  which  year 
another  house  of  worship  was  erected  and  dedicated  in 
what  was  known  as  the  Atherton  neighborhood,  in  which 
the  major  part  of  the  original  Lackawanna  church  resided. 
The  place  is  now  known  as  Taylor.  The  church, 
however,  which  was  for  many  years  occupied  as  a  regular 
preaching  station  by  Mr.  Parke,  was  for  a  time  abandoned 
by  the  Presbyterians.  It  is  now  again  occupied  by  them, 
and  a  new  church  organized.  During  the  same  year, 
1848,  the  Newton  Presbyterian  church  was  erected,  the 
work  having  been  inaugurated  by  Mr.  Parke  while  it  was 
still  a  part  of  his  field,  and  provision  was  made  for  its 
completion  before  he  relinquished  his  care  of  the  Newton 
church.  Dr.  Parke  says  in  his  Historical  sermon  that 
this  church  was  erected  in  1850;  but,  as  to  date,  this  is  a 
mistake. 

Thus  stakes  were  being  driven  and  preparation  made 
for  future  successful  work.  Another  arrangement  of  no 
little  importance  to  the  young  pastor  and  his  work  had 
been  proceeding  quietly,  by  which  the  ties  between 
Wilkes-Barre  and  Pittston  were  to  be  strengthened,  and 
the  Levitical  succession  honored,  which  was,  on  the  8th 
of  June,    1847,   proclaimed   to  the  world  and  solemnly 


158  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

sanctioned,  viz.,  the  marriage  of  the  Rev.  Nathan  Grier 
Parke,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  by  his  father,  to  Miss  Ann 
Elizabeth  Gildersleeve.  Many  still  living  in  Lackawanna 
valley  remembered  her  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Cyrus 
Gildersleeve,  the  faithful  Wilkes-Barre  pastor  of  former 
years;  and  many  there  were  who  respected  the  sterling 
qualities  of  her  father,  Mr.  W.  C.  Gildersleeve,  a  man  in 
some  respects,  especially  on  the  subject  of  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  in  advance  of  his  generation;  and  they  hailed 
the  advent  of  the  young  minister's  wife.  When  they 
knew  her,  they  also  hailed  her  presence  for  her  own  sake; 
nor  did  they  ever  change  their  just  estimation  of  her 
excellence.  And  doubtless  she  made  him  whom  they 
had  longer  known  and  loved  still  more  worthy  of  their 
regard.  Of  the  immediate  parties  in  the  transaction  we 
are  noting,  the  Hon.  Alfred  Hand  says,  twenty-five  years 
after  this  important  event,  upon  the  occasion  of  the 
celebration  of  a  ([uarter  of  a  century  of  the  life  of  the 
Scranton  Presbyterian  church,  the  offshoot  from  the 
church  of  Lackawanna  : 

"The  Rev.  N.  G.  Parke,  who  has  the  honor,  not 
simply  of  laying  the  foundation  walls,  but  of  clearing 
away  the  scrub  oak,  and  digging  the  foundation  trench, 
is  entitled  to  all  honor  for  his  faithfulness.  We  welcome 
him  here  with  warm  hearts  to-night.  'How  beautiful 
upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth 
good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace.'  In  mountain  paths, 
over  rough  roads,  at  far  distant  stations,  in  stormy  and 
fair  weather,  he  served  his  Master,  and  we  are  reaping 
the  fruits  of  his  labors.  While  Mr.  Parke  labored  here, 
Elisha  Atherton  generously  gave  him  a  home  at  his  house, 
and  stood  by  him  until  he  married  a  wife,  and  then  Mr. 


PRESBYTERY   OF    LUZERNE.  I  59 

Atherton  very  reasonably  concluded  that  Mr.  Parke 
could  stand  without  him,  a  conclusion  which  subsequent 
events  have  fully  verified."  It  may  be  added  that  the 
wives  of  the  pastors  generally,  of  Luzerne  Presbytery, 
have  enabled  their  husbands  to  stand  firmly  where 
perhaps  they  would  have  stood  feebly  without  them. 

Dr.  Parke  was,  at  the  time  of  his  marriage,  a  settled 
pastor  on  a  pledged  salary  of  ^400  per  year.  His 
installation  took  place  July  7th,  1847.  ^  commodious 
parsonage  was  built  on  lots  contributed  by  Miss  Mira 
Giddings,  which  was  completed  in  the  spring  of  185 1, 
and  was  the  first  parsonage  in  the  Presbytery.  This 
located  the  pastor  in  the  new  centre  of  his  field.  In 
securing  this  advantage  the  congregation  is  understood  to 
have  been  liberally  aided.  It  was  an  expression  of 
paternal  regard,  fraternal  sentiment,  and  Christian  zeal. 

When  the  Pittston  church  was  built,  Mr.  Strong's 
Sabbath  School  was  moved  into  it.  Not  only  was  this 
school  maintained  in  vigor  and  prosperity,  but  other 
schools  were  established  at  different  points  in  the  valley, 
where  they  are  now  organized  churches  with  pastors. 

In  1850,  Pittston  church  had  become  self-sustaining. 
Scranton  also  was  a  self-sustaining  church,  and  Newton 
and  Abington  had  been  taken  from  Mr.  Parke's  original 
field.  Three  houses  of  worship  had  been  erected,  and 
paid  for,  three  ministers  instead  of  one,  were  devoting  all 
their  time  to  the  work. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Parke  had  been  relieved  of  many  of 
his  long  rides.  He  had,  during  the  years  of  his  itineracy, 
greatly  extended  his  acquaintance  with  the  people.  His 
preaching  in  his  various  stations  had  been  well  attended. 
The  common   people  heard  him  gladly.       He  preached 


l60  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

the  pure  gospel  plainly.  As  he  told  the  writer,  his  plan 
was,  not  to  include  many  thoughts  in  a  sermon,  but  to 
make  the  leading  and  important  theme  of  his  discourse 
very  plain,  and  impress  it  on  the  minds  of  his  hearers. 
This  he  generally  succeeded  in  doing.  An  intelligent 
lady  told  me  not  long  ago,  that  she  remembered  some 
things  in  the  first  sermon  she  heard  him  deliver,  forty-six 
years  ago.  Among  these,  he  said  some  people  had  just 
religion  enough  to  make  them  unhappy,  but  not  enough 
to  bring  them  into  the  enjoyment  of  the  gospel.  He 
generally  wrote  his  sermons  fully  out,  but  used  his  manu- 
script with  much  freedom  and  fluency.  He  was  a  good, 
plain,  forcible  preacher.  He  did  not  aim  at  brilliancy ; 
on  the  other  hand,  he  was  not  dull.  There  was  heart  in 
his  delivery.  And  while  his  bearing  was  not  of  the 
Chesterfieldian  order,  there  was  nothing  particularly  ob- 
jectionable, except  it  might  have  been  a  habit  of  tossing 
his  head  quickly  to  adjust  the  hair  on  his  forehead, 
which,  in  former  days,  was  allowed  to  grow  longer  than 
at  present. 

Mr.  Parke  was  eminently  social  in  his  disposition, 
and  equable  in  his  temper.  The  writer,  during  a  long 
association  with  him  as  a  neighboring  pastor,  never  saw 
him  perturbed.  He  was  open  to  counsel,  and  respected 
the  opinions  of  others;  yet  he  was  firm  in  his  own  con- 
victions. He  had  passed  through  both  college  and  semi- 
nary without  acquiring  the  habit  of  using  tobacco. 

While  Mr.  Parke  wrote  no  books,  he  has  been,  from 
early  life,  a  frequent  contributor  to  our  church  papers. 
In  this  correspondence  we  find  the  same  general  char- 
acteristics that  we  have  found  in  his  sermons — clearness, 
directness  and  force. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  l6l 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Richard  Webster,  the  pastor 
of  the  Pittston  church  became  the  efficient  stated  clerk  of 
the  Presbytery,  which  office  he  long  held.  He  was  a 
good  and  faithful  Presbyter.  The  growth  of  Pittston  was 
rapid  in  the  earlier  years  of  '50,  and  the  building  in- 
creased towards  the  south,  and  over  the  river.  The  first 
house  of  worship  was  becoming  too  small,  and  was  some- 
what out  of  the  center  of  the  congregation.  Another, 
with  ampler  dimensions,  and  to  be  located  more  favorably, 
was  projected,  which  meant,  with  those  who  had  the  mat- 
ter in  hand,  its  erection  according  to  the  plans  and 
specifications.  This  was  accomplished  in  1857;  not, 
however,  without  a  straggle,  for  during  the  years  of 
preparation  and  work  upon  the  new  structure,  there  had 
been  a  season  of  depression  in  business.  Some  of  the 
pioneers  who  had  struggled  to  build  the  first  sanctuary 
were  still  upon  the  ground,  and  with  unabated  zeal  and 
devotion  aided  the  work. 

Growth  and  stability  were  thus  secured  at  Pittston, 
and  ultimately  to  the  concurrent  work  of  the  churches  in 
all  the  adjacent  communities.  Presbyterianism,  properly 
understood,  teaches  that  the  true  prosperity  of  any  part  of 
the  family  is  the  enlargement  of  the  whole  body,  and 
thereby  the  more  emphatic  testimony  to  the  value  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  We  are  not  to  follow  to  the  end, 
or  even  to  the  present  date,  all  the  influence  of  the  church 
we  are  dealing  with,  nor  the  life  of  its  pastor,  who  has 
enjoyed  the  enviable  privilege  of  such  a  prolonged  pas- 
torate of  one  ever  prosperous  church.  We  have  only 
been  able  to  note  the  beginnings  of  salutary  and  uplifting 
influences,  as,  in  a  few  instances,  they  are  observed  to 
crystalize,  attracting  light  and  reflecting  it  in  new  di- 
rections with  ever  increasing  intensity. 


l62  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Washington  and  Jefferson  College  conferred  on  Mr. 
Parke  the  honorary  degree  of  D.  D.  in  1884.  He,  with 
Dr.  Milo,  of  Hickok,  in  1867,  had  the  honor  of  repre- 
senting our  General  Assembly  in  the  General  Assemblies 
of  the  Free  and  the  United  Presbyterian  Churches  of 
Scotland,  and  Dr.  Parke's  own  people  took  pleasure  in 
meeting  all  the  expenses  of  the  mission. 

He  is  still  with  us  to  see  the  fruits  of  his  work ;  Mrs. 
Parke  also.  If  spared  until  June  8th,  1897,  they  will 
have  been  married  fifty  years.  Three  sons  and  one 
daughter  occupy  honorable  positions  in  the  church  and  in 
civil  life.  Three  of  the  children  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Parke 
have  preceded  them  to  the  heavenly  rest. 

At  the  close  of  the  fiftieth  year  of  Dr.  Parke's 
ministry,  he  resigned  his  pastoral  charge  and  was  made 
Pastor  Emeritus  of  the  church  he  had  served  so  long,  a 
position  which  he  still  holds.  During  the  session  of  the 
adjourned  meeting  of  the  Lackawanna  Presbytery  in 
Pittston  Presbyterian  Church,  June  4th,  1894,  after  the 
adoption  of  the  papers  for  record  of  the  Fiftieth  Anni- 
versary of  the  Rev.  Dr.  N.  G.  Parke's  ministry,  a 
committee  consisting  of  Revs.  W.  Scott  Stites,  P.  H. 
Brooks,  F.  B.  Hodge,  D.  D.,  S.  C.  Logan,  D.  D.,  and 
S.  M.  Parke,  Esq.,  was  appointed  to  prepare  the  minutes 
of  this  meeting  for  publication,  and  publish  them,  to- 
gether with  the  adopted  report  of  the  committee.  This 
was  done  in  a  brief  memorial,  entitled,  "Fifty  Golden 
Years." 


XI. 

OTHER  EARLY  MINISTERS  OF  THE 
PRESBYTERY. 


THE  Rev.  Charles  A.  Evans  had  come  to  this  country 
in  1839  from  Ballybay,  Ireland.  He  had  graduated 
from  Belfast  College  the  same  year,  and  after  studying 
Theology  for  some  time  privately,  spent  some  two  years 
in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  These  facts  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  he  was  one  of  that  numerous  class 
to  which  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  country  is  so 
greatly  indebted,  the  Scotch-Irish,  but  his  name  raises 
the  question  as  to  whether  he  was  not  a  Welsh-Irishman. 
He  was  licensed  by  the  Newton  Presbytery.  He  was 
commissioned  to  labor  in  the  Lackawanna  Valley,  and  in 
Fallstown,  in  1841.  Before  the  organization  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  he  was  engaged  in  missionary 
work  in  its  subsequent  territory.  He  was,  by  the  act 
which  constituted  the  new  Presbytery,  transferred  to  it, 
and  his  ordination  provided  for,  upon  his  accepting  the 
call  of  the  Northmoreland  Church  which  was  tendered 
him.  Thus  his  ordination,  which  took  place  November 
13th,  1843,  was  the  first  in  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne. 
He  was  the  first  and  the  only  pastor  formally  installed 
over  the  Northmoreland  Church.  It  had  been  organized 
among  the  earliest  of  the  regularly  constituted  churches 
in  Luzerne  County,  viz.,  Dec.  9,  1821.  A  house  of 
worship  had  been  erected  a  year  previous.     The  circum- 


164  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Stances  of  the  organization  are  not,  so  far  as  we  know,  a 
matter  of  record.  There  were,  at  the  beginning,  fifteen 
members.  The  names  of  the  original  elder  and  deacon 
are  given  as  Daniel  Locke  and  Leonard  House  ;  subse- 
quent elders  were  Jehiel  Fuller,  Ebenezer  Brown,  and 
Isaac  Harris. 

The  first  minister,  as  far  as  we  know,  was  the  Rev. 
John  Rhodes,  who  seems  to  have  ministered  in  that 
community  a  long  time  and  some  of  his  descendants 
resided  there  long  afterwards.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Corss  tells 
us  he  came  from  a  Congregational  Association  in  New 
Jersey  (but  such  associations  were  not  numerous  at  that 
time  in  N.  J.),  and  that  he  had  been  brought  up  among 
the  Moravians.  He  seems  to  have  been  active  and 
energetic.  We  find  him  taking  part  in  the  organization 
of  several  churches,  and  acting  as  their  supply.  He  was 
an  earnest  worker.  The  Rev.  Isaac  Todd  supplied 
Northmoreland  for  a  time,  also  the  Rev.  Thomas  Owen, 
and  perhaps  others,  before  the  Rev.  Charles  A.  Evans  was 
installed  pastor  in  1848.  At  this  time  the  church  reported 
thirty-five  members. 

Mr.  Evans  continued  pastor  of  Northmoreland  till 
April,  1846.  While  a  licentiate  and  after  his  ordination 
he  had  given  a  part  of  his  time  to  the  Lackawanna 
Church,  which  included  the  whole  valley,  except  Carbon - 
dale,  till  Dr.  Parke  came,  June,  1844.  He  is  represented 
as  a  faithful  and  successful  worker.  He  was  released 
from  his  pastorate,  April,  1846,  in  order  that  he  might 
accept  a  charge  in  a  Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Durham, 
New  York.  He  subsequently  was  pastor  of  a  church  of 
the  same  denomination  at  Moresville,  N.  Y. ,  where  his 
work  was  greatly  blessed.      He  afterwards  returned  to  the 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE,  1 65 

Presbyterian  Church  and  became  stated  supply  of  the 
churches  of  State  Line  City  and  Lebanon,  Ind.,  from 
1859  to  1862.  He  was  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  Ohio 
Central  College  (U.  P.)  1870-1873 ;  after  which  he 
resided  in  South  Bend,  Ind.;  from  thence  going  forth 
in  various  directions  in  the  performance  of  missionary 
work  as  he  was  able.  His  health  for  a  long  time  being 
greatly  impaired,  he  died  in  his  73d  year,  confiding  fully 
in  the  Redeemer.  He  left  a  wife,  whom  he  had  married 
in  1844 — her  maiden  name  being  Miss  Sarah  Marshall 
Harris,  of  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y. — and  two  children,  all 
that  remained  of  eight  that  had  been  born  to  them. 
They  are  Sarah,  the  wife  of  Dr.  John  C.  Wallace,  and  the 
Rev.  Charles  A.  Evans,  pastor  of  Christ  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Lebanon,  Pa.  Thus  he  lives  in  the  children 
whom  God  had  given  him. 

Mr.  George  W.  Perkins,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Philadelphia,  spent  a  year  or  two  as  a  supply  of  the 
Northmoreland  Church  after  graduating  from  Princeton 
Seminary,  viz.,  from  1846  to  1848.  He  afterwards 
affiliated  with  the  Moravians. 

The  Rev.  Ashbel  Green  Harned  was  the  second 
minister  inducted  into  the  pastoral  office  by  the  new 
Presbytery.  This  took  place  on  the  fourth  day  of  May, 
1844,  he  having  been  ordained  at  the  same  time.  He 
was  made  the  first  pastor  of  the  Summit  Hill  Church 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  originally  a  part  of  the  Rev. 
Richard  Webster's  field,  but  had  been  formally  organized 
as  a  church  in  1839,  and  remained  under  the  same 
ministration  till  the  spring  of  1842,  after  which  it  was 
supplied  a  few  months  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  AVm.  E.  Schenck, 
then  a  young  man.      He  also  supplied  Tamaqua.     He 


1 66  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

was  followed  for  a  short  time  by  the  Rev.  John  H. 
Rittenhouse,  a  licentiate  of  Northumberland  Presbytery. 
Summit  Church,  at  this  time,  had  forty-four  members. 

Mr.  Harned  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
May  23,  1817.  His  parents  gave  him  the  name  of  one  of 
the  most  honored  representatives  of  Presbyterianism  in 
that  city,  "Ashbel  Green."  This,  in  connection  with 
the  eminent  Presbyterian  teachers  whom  they  selected  to 
fit  their  son  for  college,  would  imply,  in  the  absence  of 
positive  statements  to  that  effect,  that  they  designed  him 
for  the  ministry  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  We  find, 
too,  that  his  own  mind  was  early  impressed  by  spiritual 
things,  for  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  voluntarily  took 
upon  himself  the  covenant  which  parental  faith  had 
recognized  in  his  behalf.  At  that  time  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  his  native 
city.  He  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1838.  The  next  year  he  taught  in  the  High 
School  at  Norristown,  Pa.  Entering  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  1839,  yet  still  employing  a  part  of 
his  time  in  teaching  at  Norristown,  he  completed  the 
entire  course  in  four  instead  of  three  years,  or  1843. 

The  next  year,  after  being  licensed  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Philadelphia,  June  27th,  1843,  '"'^  spent  in  supplying 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Frederick  City,  Md.  After 
which,  as  we  have  already  noted,  he  entered  upon  his 
first  regular  pastorate  in  the  town  of  Summit  Hill.  This 
town  was  one  of  the  coal  producing  villages,  and  was  a 
fair  representative  of  such  places  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
percentage  of  intelligent,  thinking  people  in  such  places 
is  rather  above  than  below  that  of  the  average  village. 
This  at  least  was  the  case  in  the  earlier  days  of  Summit 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 67 

Hill.  Even  among  the  miners  proper  were  found  many 
thoughtful,  reading  men,  and  the  operators  and  managers 
were  men  of  much  intelligence  and  enterprise.  And,  in 
these  days  they  were  men  who  gave  much  encouragement 
to  the  work  of  a  devoted  minister  of  the  gospel.  The 
church  work  at  Summit  Hill  had  already  been  well  begun 
by  Mr.  Webster,  and  there  were  many  good  and  faithful 
Sabbath  School  teachers  there  when  Mr.  Harned  took  it 
up.  We  are  told  that  he  labored  faithfully  and  success- 
fully in  this  church  until  released,  April  17th,  1856 — 
about  twelve  years — the  membership  numbering  at  this 
time  about  100.  In  the  meantime  many  had  been 
dismissed  to  other  churches,  new  coal  enterprises  had 
taken  whole  colonies  from  this  and  older  mining  towns, 
consisting  of  operators  and  miners.  This  is  the  discourag- 
ing feature  of  such  fields  as  Summit  Hill. 

Mr.  Harned  was  a  man  of  accurate  and  extensive 
learning,  but  very  modest  and  retiring  withal,  perhaps 
somewhat  wanting  in  that  self-assertion,  which  often  gives 
greater  currency  to  men  of  less  ability.  He  did  not 
seem  to  have  a  very  strong  physical  frame,  although  a 
person  of  comely  appearance. 

Mr.  Harned,  soon  after  he  was  settled  at  Summit 
Hill,  married  Miss  Catherine  Hugg  Fatzinger,  daughter 
of  Mr.  John  Fatzinger.  She  was  an  amiable  and 
intelligent  lady,  whose  usefulness  and  enjoyment  were 
very  much  hindered  by  protracted  ill  health.  She  was  a 
great  sufferer  during  many  years. 

After  resigning  at  Summit  Hill,  Mr.  Harned  taught 
a  Classical  school  in  Mauch  Chunk  for  several  years.  At 
the  same  time  he  became  stated  supply  of  the  Presbyterian 
church    of   Slatington,    and    on    June    29th,    i860,    was 


l68  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

formally  installed  as  pastor  there,  which  position  he  held 
till  October  4th,  1865.  He  acted  as  agent  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Colonization  Society  during  1866  and  1867, 
after  which  he  became  Principal  of  the  Luzerne  Presby- 
terial  Institute,  at  Wyoming,  thus  returning  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  and  supplying  the  churches  of 
Northmoreland  and  Lehman  in  connection  with  his 
principalship,  during  the  years  1868  and  1869.      In  April, 

1870,  he  began  to  act  as  stated  supply  of  the  Newton 
church,  and  subsequently  was  installed  pastor,  Nov.  23rd, 

1871.  After  being  released  from  Newton,  1877,  he  was 
for  some  time  a  missionary  at  Grand  Tunnel,  Pa.,  and 
the  stated  supply  of  Waldo  and  Columbia  churches. 
This  was  his  last  charge.  Being  laid  aside  by  nervous 
prostration,  which  not  only  seriously  affected  his  physical 
strength,  but  his  mind  as  well,  he  returned  to  his  native 
city  for  medical  aid.  Human  help,  however,  seems  to 
have  been  inadequate,  except  to  soothe  in  some  measure 
his  sufferings  and  quiet  his  mind.  Oct.  16,  1881,  he 
ended  his  earthly  career,  aged  sixty-five.  The  writer  of 
his  obituary  says  of  him,  "He  closed  in  peace  and  hope  a 
quiet,  unobtrusive  life,  into  which  had  come  many  cares 
and  sorrows.  He  was  truly  a  good  man,  of  warm  heart 
and  gentle  manners,  and  an  excellent  scholar."  His 
wife  had  ceased  from  her  earthly  career  five  years  before 
him.  He  left  six  children  to  mourn  his  departure,  five 
daughters  and  one  son. 


XII. 
REV.  JACOB  DELVILLE  MITCHELL,  D.  D. 

THE  Rev.  Jacob  Delville  Mitchell  Avas  the  third  man 
ordained  and  installed  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne ;  and  made  pastor  of  the  Kingston  Presbyterian 
church  Sept.  24th,  1845.  The  sermon  of  the  occasion 
was  preached  by  a  former  pastor,  the  Rev.  Alexander 
Heberton.  Mr.  Mitchell,  like  Mr.  Harned,  was  from 
Philadelphia,  the  son  of  an  influential  Presbyterian  family 
who  provided  for  his  thorough  and  careful  instruction  in 
the  best  institutions.  After  leaving  college  he  is  under- 
stood to  have  engaged  in  secular  pursuits  for  some  time, 
but  when  it  pleased  God  to  reveal  unto  him  His  Son, 
Jesus  Christ,  he  was  led  to  devote  himself  to  preparation 
for  the  gospel  ministry.  He  entered  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  1842,  and,  as  seen  above,  in  1845 
we  find  him  regularly  inducted  into  the  sacred  office. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  ministry,  Mr.  Mitchell's 
sermons  were  regarded  as  superior,  and  were  delivered 
with  such  an  unction  as  to  produce  a  profound  impression, 
although  they  were  written  throughout,  and  delivered 
with  the  manuscript  before  him.  His  appearance  showed 
him  to  be  possessed  of  a  fine  physical  development,  and 
his  utterances  indicated  the  grasp  of  a  strong  and  well 
stored  mind.  His  preaching  was  with  the  emotion  which 
showed  the  heart  interest  of  the  preacher  in  the  truth 
communicated  and  in  those  to  whom  he  addressed  it,  as 


170  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

well  as  a  due  sense  of  his  responsibility  as  a  messenger  of 
Divine  truth,  and  as  one  who  watched  for  souls ;  yet  over 
his  emotions,  which  were  intense,  he  maintained  perfect 
control. 

These  facts,  if  we  mistake  not,  account  for  the  fact 
that,  notwithstanding  Mr.  Mitchell's  appearance  of  great 
manly  strength,  his  labors  were  soon  interrupted  by  ill 
health,  much  to  the  regret  of  his  people.  For  a  time 
during  his  pastorate  at  Kingston,  he  was  obliged  to  call 
to  his  aid  for  several  months  the  Rev.  Theodore  L. 
Cuyler,  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  long,  useful  and 
honored  ministry,  and  Dr.  Cuyler  doubtless  learned  some 
lessons  in  Wyoming  Valley  which  have  made  his  fruitful 
ministry  more  so  than  it  otherwise  would  have  been. 
Kingston  church  ardently  cherished  his  memory  and 
early  instructions,  as  from  time  to  time  it  followed  him  in 
his  work  in  the  great  cities  where  God  blessed  his 
prolonged,  acceptable,  wise  and  faithful  ministry. 

It  was  during  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Mitchell  that  the 
part  of  the  Kingston  congregation  which  gathered  for 
religious  services  in  the  little  chapel  which  had  been  built 
on  the  cemetery  grounds,  near  the  village  of  Troy, 
(subsequently  called  Wyoming,)  came  to  the  determination 
to  ask  Presbytery  to  constitute  them  a  separate  church. 
This  was  the  first  attempt  to  divide  the  Kingston 
congregation;  but  we  learn  of  no  opposition  on  the  part 
of  the  mother  church  or  the  pastor.  The  committee  that 
approached  Presbytery  with  reference  to  the  matter 
consisted  of  Messrs.  Thomas  X.  Atherton,  Peter  Barber 
and  Charles  Fuller ;  Presbytery  being  in  session  at 
Berwick,  April,  1847.  The  petition  borne  by  this 
committee  was  signed  by  thirty  names.       It  set  forth  the 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  I7I 

fact  that  ''the  members  of  the  Kingston  church  residing 
in  the  village  of  Wyoming  and  vicinity  were  desirous  of 
securing  for  themselves  and  their  families  more  frequent 
and  constant  enjoyment  of  the  means  of  grace,  and 
therefore  they  requested  to  be  organized  into  a  separate 
and  distinct  church."  Presbytery,  by  a  unanimous  vote, 
granted  the  request  of  the  petitioners  and  appointed 
Reverends  John  Dorrance,  T.  P.  Hunt,  N.  G.  Parke  and 
Elder  Charles  D.  Shoemaker  to  organize  the  church,  if 
they  found  the  way  clear  to  do  so.  The  committee  met 
May  4th,  1847.  In  the  absence  of  Mr.  Dorrance  the 
sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Jacob  Belville,  of 
Baltimore  Presbytery.  Mr.  Hunt  presided.  The  organi- 
zation was  effected  and  completed  by  the  election  and 
installation  of  the  following  members  as  ruling  elders, 
viz.,  Henry  Hice,  R.  E.  Marvine,  Charles  Fuller,  and  S. 
C.  Ensign,  all  of  them  having  previously  held  the  same 
office  in  other  churches. 

The  organization  of  the  Wyoming  church  of  course 
greatly  weakened  the  Kingston  church  and  gave  it  a  much 
more  circumscribed  field.  Mr.  Mitchell's  health  failing, 
he  was  obliged  to  resign  his  pastoral  charge,  but  during 
the  summer  he  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  supply  the 
new  church  of  Wyoming,  which  knew  well  his  pulpit 
ability  and  eagerly  sought  his  services.  Mr.  Mitchell 
continued  to  have  charge  of  the  new  church  till  the 
spring  of  1849.  At  that  time  an  enterprise  was  under- 
taken which  had  deeply  engaged  the  attention  of  certain 
members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  and  citizens  of 
Wyoming.  Prominent,  if  not  principal,  among  the 
latter  class,  was  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Atherton.  This  move- 
ment  had  reached  such  a  stage  of  advancement  that  it 


172  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

called  for  wise,  personal  management.  It  was  the  opening 
of  the  Luzerne  Presbyterial  Institute  at  that  place.  To 
this  work  the  Trustees  elected  the  Rev.  J.  Delville 
Mitchell,  and  in  accepting  its  principalship  he  relin- 
quished his  charge  of  the  Wyoming  church.  Thus  Dr. 
Mitchell  became  personally  identified  with  the  important 
work  which  the  Luzerne  Presbyterial  Institute  did  in 
behalf  of  Christian  education.  While  it  did  not  accom- 
plish all  that  its  founders  hoped  from  it,  there  are  many 
of  its  students  in  various  honorable  and  responsible  po- 
sitions, whose  character  and  usefulness  speak  emphatically 
in  testimony  of  the  good  work  which  the  able  and  devoted 
teachers  and  founders  performed  during  the  period  of  its 
active  operations.  Of  these  agents  in  carrying  forward 
the  school,  we  will  have  more  to  say  as  we  proceed. 

Dr,  Mitchell  was  not  allowed  to  continue  long  with 
the  infant  institution,  as  his  services  as  a  preacher  and 
pastor  were  wanted  in  developing  the  work  which  had 
been  so  auspiciously  begun  in  the  coming  city  of  Scran- 
ton.  The  development  of  the  Presbyterian  church  there, 
was  to  keep  pace  with  the  advance  in  business  and  the 
growth  of  civic  institutions  in  that  remarkable  city,  under 
the  leadership  of  the  men  who  had  explored  the  wilder- 
ness where  it  was  to  be  built,  laid  out  the  railroads,  sunk 
the  deep  shafts  that  opened  up  the  valuable  minerals,  the 
coal  and  the  iron,  erected  the  furnaces,  and,  as  the  peo- 
ple increased,  built  homes  for  themselves  and  others,  and 
gave  care  to  the  municipal  regulations  of  the  rising 
metropolis.  These  men,  many  of  them  at  least,  loved  the 
church  of  God  and  cared  for  the  souls  of  men.  Mr. 
Mitchell  is  called  to  identify  his  efforts  with  theirs  in 
church  work,  and  for  the  present  we  leave  him  till  we 
come  to  speak  of  the  Scranton  church  and  its  pastors  again. 


XII  I. 


REV.  B.   F.  BITTENGER,  D.  D. 


AS  we  have  seen,  the  Rev.  Richard  Webster  extended 
his  missionary  labors  to  the  Schuylkill  Valley,  at  a 
number  of  points,  notable  among  them,  Tamaqua,  on  the 
Little  Schuylkill  river.  This  point  had  long  been  cared 
for  by  Mr.  Webster  and  such  young  ministers  as  from 
time  to  time  came  to  his  assistance.  Yet  no  organized 
church  of  our  denomination  is  found  there  till  July  nth, 
1846,  nor  do  we  learn  of  a  settled  minister  in  Tamaqua 
till  1847,  when  Benjamin  F.  Bittenger  is  found  on  the 
ground.  On  the  second  of  November  of  the  same  year 
he  was  ordained  as  an  evangelist  at  that  place.  The 
probability  is  that  he  had  been  there  some  months  before 
his  ordination.  Tamaqua  early  enjoyed  railroad  commu- 
nication with  Philadelphia,  and  was  quite  a  centre  of 
coal  operations  in  that  part  of  Schuylkill  county.  These 
operations  were  largely  in  the  hands  of  Philadelphia 
capitalists.  A  number  of  these  were  Presbyterians  who 
deeply  interested  themselves  in  the  religious  welfare  of 
that  general  region.  Messrs.  Newkirk  and  Buck,  es- 
pecially, generously  assisted  in  the  planting  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  Tamaqua.  At  their  own  expense,  or 
nearly  so,  they  erected  a  commodious  and  handsome 
church  there,  which  is  still  standing  and  doing  good  ser- 
vice. But  it  must  be  confessed  the  cause  languished  not 
a  little  when  this  firm  ceased  to  do  business  in  Tamaqua. 


174  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

What  they  had  done,  however,  greatly  aided  in  holding 
together  the  things  that  remained  when  they  were  no 
longer  at  hand  to  foster  the  cause. 

Mr.  Bittenger  was  born  at  Waynesboro,  Penn.,  and 
while  we  have  learned  little  of  his  earlier  years  and  edu- 
cation, we  find  he  had  at  least  one  brother  who  was  a 
Presbyterian  minister  and  who  was  educated  in  Columbian 
College,  D.  C.  Benjamin  F.  was  a  faithful  student  in 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  where  he  took  the  full 
course,  and  after  graduation  located  in  Tamaqua  as  his 
first  charge.  The  church  grew  under  his  ministration. 
Mr.  Bittenger,  however,  was  never  formally  installed  at 
Tamaqua,  and  only  continued  to  supply  the  church  till 
1850,  after  which  he  was  a  stated  supply,  in  Winchester 
Presbytery,  Va. ,  of  the  Lewinsville  church  ;  subsequently 
pastor  from  1852-1857  ;  then  pastor  of  the  Seventh  street 
church,  Washington,  D.  C.,from  '57-'63,  when  he  be- 
came pastor  at  Elliott  City,  Md.,  continuing  till  '67; 
then  taking  charge  of  the  Westminster  church,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  where  he  still  holds  the  fort.  In  1877  the 
Pennsylvania  College  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  has  been  from  the  beginning  a 
rising  man,  useful  and  successful  in  his  several  fields.  He 
has  long  been  stated  clerk  of  his  Presbytery,*  and  has 
published  several  useful  books. 

The  Rev.  Darwin  Cook,  of  whom  we  have  written 
above,  and  whose  ordination  in  Feb.,  1846,  was  the  fifth 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  had  performed  missionary 
work  in  the  vicinity  of  Tamaqua,  and  had  also,  during 
the  first  years  of  his  ministry,  as  his  special  field,  the 
villages   of  Donaldson    and    Fremont,    where   houses   of 

•  Washingfton  City  Presbytery. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 75 

worship  were  erected.  A  church  was  organized  at 
Donaldson.  The  work  at  these  points  was  fostered  by 
friends  of  our  church  in  Philadelphia,  who  were  also 
interested  in  coal  operations  in  this  region,  but  seems  to 
have  had  no  great  measure  of  success.  This,  no  doubt, 
was  owing  to  interruptions  and  changes  in  the  mining 
operations,  and  the  fact  that  the  original  settlers,  the 
permanent  part  of  the  population  of  Schuylkill  county 
outside  of  the  larger  towns,  were  Germans  and  did  not 
readily  affiliate  with  the  Presbyterian  church.  Therefore, 
the  Donaldson  church,  while  it  continued  on  the  roll  of 
Presbytery  till  1867,  was  only  irregularly  supplied  and 
often  vacant,  and  was  finally  dissolved ;  its  property, 
consisting  of  two  churches,  was  sold  to  the  Lutherans. 


XIV. 
THE  REV.  WILLIAM   RENWICK   GLEN 

AND 

SCHUYLKILL  VALLEY  MISSIONS. 

THE  Rev.  William  Renwick  Glen,  was  born  in 
Scotland,  January  12,  1812.  He  had  acquired,  after 
completing  his  rudimentary  education,  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  trade  of  a  machinist,  and  while  prosecuting 
it  at  Matteawan,  N.  Y.,  for  the  support  of  his  family,  he 
so  inspired  the  Presbyterian  church  in  that  place  with 
confidence  in  him  as  an  intelligent  and  upright  man, 
devoted  Christian  and  loyal  Presbyterian,  that  it  elected 
him  a  ruling  elder.  His  acceptable  and  efficient  per- 
formance of  his  duties  as  an  elder  led  the  Matteawan 
church  to  undertake  to  provide  for  his  education  in 
preparation  for  the  office  of  the  gospel  ministry  ;  and 
after  he  had  mastered  such  preparatory  study  as  .fitted  him 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  church,  we  find  him 
entering  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  in  1845,  to 
which  place  he  had  taken  his  family,  then  consisting  of 
his  wife  and  several  children. 

Mr.  Glenn  stood  well  among  his  fellow  students  and 
the  professors,  faithfully  meeting  all  the  requirements  of 
the  Institution,  and  graduating  with  his  class  in  the  spring 
of  1848.  He  soon  afterwards  entered  upon  mission 
work  in  Schuylkill  Valley;  Joseph   Mitchell,   Esq.,   and 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE,  1 77 

Other  Presbyterian  friends  in  Philadelphia  providing  for 
the  support  of  the  mission.  His  field  included  New 
Philadelphia,  Middleport  and  other  coaleries  between 
Tamaqua  and  Port  Carbon.  A  church  was  organized, 
soon  after  Mr.  Glen  entered  upon  his  work,  designed  for 
the  general  field,  named  the  Schuylkill  Valley  church, 
and  a  house  of  worship  was  erected  at  Middleport. 
December  loth,  1S50,  Mr.  Glen  was  ordained  as  an 
evangelist  and  continued  to  have  charge  of  the  mission 
till  1852.  In  the  earlier  part  of  his  term  of  service  there 
was  considerable  encouragement,  and  doubtless  much 
good  was  done.  The  mines  did  not  prove  profitable, 
perhaps  owing  to  the  peculiar  irregularity  of  the  coal 
strata,  not  so  well  understood  at  that  time  as  now ; 
operations  were  suspended  and  the  people  moved 
away  from  the  several  villages.  The  church,  however, 
was  long  continued  on  the  roll  of  Presbytery,  and 
reported  ten  members  in  1858.  The  name  appears 
afterwards  in  the  Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly,  but 
no  number  of  members  is  given. 

We  learned  above  that  Dr.  Bittenger  left  Tamaqua  in 
1850,*  and  it  seems  probable  that  Mr.  Glen  gave  a  part 
of  his  time  from  1850  to  1852  to  that  church,  and  during 
that  last  named  year  he  became  the  regular  pastor  at 
Tamaqua.  He  was  released  in  1856  to  take  the  pastoral 
charge  at  German  Valley,  New  Jersey. 

There  was  substantial  growth  in  Tamaqua  during 
Mr.  Glen's  ministry.  He  was  an  acceptable  preacher 
and  diligent  pastor.     The  Rev.  Richard  Webster  says  of 

♦After  the  Rev.  B.  F.  Bittenger  removed  from  Tamaqua  in  1850  the  Rev. 
Marten  Lowrie  Hofford  succeeded  him  for  two  years,  or  1851-1852.  A 
graduate  of  Princeton  CoUege  and  a  student  in  the  seminary  in  that  place 
and  a  Ucentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  North. 


1/8  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

him,  in  writing  to  a  young  minister  whom  he  was 
counselling  to  imitate  Mr.  Glen  :  "Where  there  is  no 
fluency  it  is  decidedly  a  duty  to  write  the  whole  sermon 
in  a  fair,  large  hand  and  read  it  over,  so  as  to  be  entirely 
familiar  with  it,  and  use  it  in  the  pulpit.  This  is  the 
method  of  Dr.  Green.  Mr.  Glen  uses  the  same  method 
and  his  style  of  preaching  is  generally  and  greatly 
admired." 

Mr.  Glen  was  pastor  of  the  German  Valley  church 
from  1856  to  1868,  when  he  was  called  to  Bloomington, 
111.,  where  he  was  formally  installed  in  1869  and 
continued  till  187 1,  after  which  he  supplied  the  church  of 
Heyworth,  Illinois,  one  year.  His  last  pastoral  charge 
was  the  Monticello  church  in  the  same  state,  beginning 
1873.  Becoming  infirm,  he  resided  in  Frankfort, 
Indiana,  from  1875  to  1880,  when,  on  March  31st,  he 
ceased  from  his  earthly  labors. 

He  was  a  good  and  useful  minister,  whom  the  writer 
knew  well  as  a  classmate  and  co-presbyter,  but  we  have 
been  long  and  widely  separated,  and  the  condition  in 
which  he  left  the  loved  ones  of  his  family  we  are  not  able 
to  state. 


,<ff%  ,!f^\  ^^\  ,t^^f%  .<r|f^,  .(^ 

^4l#  ULl  tdtl  Ml  ^mJ  Ij 

XV. 
THE  REV.  JOHN  JERMAIN  PORTER 

AND  THE 

KINGSTON  CHURCH. 

EVER  since  the  Kingston  church  stood  alone,  it  had 
been  ministered  to  by  men  educated  at  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Gilder- 
sleeve  who  was  from  Rutger's  Seminary.  The  Presbytery 
of  Luzerne  was,  from  the  beginning,  in  very  close 
correspondence  with  that  institution,  and  was  able 
generally  to  secure  the  men  suited  to  the  work  needed  in 
its  various  and  diversified  fields.  Those  who  knew  the 
professors  of  Princeton  Seminary  at  that  time,  knew  that 
very  few  unworthy  men,  or  men  not  fully  devoted  to  the 
Master  and  his  service,  could  go  through  the  course  of 
study  there  without  having  been  led  to  subject  themselves 
to  the  most  careful  examination  of  their  motives  and 
qualifications  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  As  a  natural 
result,  the  students  had  been  led  to  the  most  diligent 
improvement  of  their  time  and  opportunities.  Their 
work  and  their  responsibility  were  therefore  not  lightly 
esteemed.  The  expectation  of  favorable  results  indulged 
by  the  good  men  who  had  projected  the  Presbytery,  from 
the  recruits  it  secured  from  time  to  time  to  their  number, 
were  seldom  disappointed,  as  from  year  to  year  they  laid 
their  hands  on  one  after  another  of  the  Princeton  students. 


l80  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

We  have  seen  that  on  the  second  of  November,  1847, 
one  had  been  thus  set  apart  by  the  Presbytery  ;  then 
again,  on  the  ninth  of  the  same  month,  another  was 
ordained  with  prayer  and  the  laying  on  of  hands.  This 
candidate  had  the  specific  call  of  one  of  its  oldest 
churches,  a  mother  church,  which  had  recently  given  a 
large  measure  of  her  strength  to  a  daughter  that  had 
assumed  new  church  life  and  personality. 

Yet  Kingston  church,  with  her  diminished  strength^ 
calls  to  her  pastorate  the  Rev.  J.  Jermain  Porter,  who  was 
not  a  novice.  He  had  been  carefully  and  thoroughly 
trained,  and  was  a  man  in  whom  there  was  "an  excellent 
spirit,"  even  the  spirit  of  the  Master  himself.  He  was 
born  in  Ovid,  N.  Y.,  March  20,  1821,  graduated  from 
Union  College  1843,  and  from  Princeton  Seminary  1847. 
The  Kingston  congregation  received  Mr.  Porter  very 
cordially,  and,  with  their  diminished  strength,  rallied 
nobly  to  his  support.  And,  although  he  succeeded  a 
minister  of  no  ordinary  pulpit  ability,  he  was  able  to 
satisfy  the  people,  and  saw  evidence  of  progress  in  the 
church  during  his  ministry.  He  looked  after  neighboring 
communities.  A  new  Sabbath  School  was  started  in  Mill 
Hollow  which,  with  some  interruptions,  has  been  con- 
tinued ever  since,  and  ultimately  became  the  forerunner 
of  the  Bennett  Presbyterian  church.  Mrs.  Porter  and  her 
sister  Miss  Hall,  were  to  the  young  pastor  efficient  helpers 
in  his  work. 

Mr.  Porter  was  not  only  an  excellent  preacher  and 
pastor;  he  was  also  an  efficient  presbyter.  Possessed  of  a 
missionary  spirit,  he  deeply  sympathized  with  the 
brethren  who  were  doing  pioneer  work.  On  one 
occasion,  while  at  Kingston,  he  and  Mrs.  Porter,  accom- 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  l8l 

panied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  C.  Gildersleeve,  drove  on 
a  winter  day  eighteen  miles  to  call  upon  a  young 
missionary  and  his  wife,  to  cheer  them  in  their  work. 
Mr.  Gildersleeve,  believing  the  young  family  would  be 
aided  by  possessing  a  cow,  left  them  the  means  with 
which  to  procure  that  necessary  help  to  comfortable  and 
economical  living.  This  visit  had  much  significance  to 
the  novices  in  missionary  work. 

While  Mr.  Porter  remained  only  three  years  with 
his  first  charge,  his  ministry  greatly  benefitted  the 
congregation  at  Kingston.  He  also  secured  from  them 
that  affectionate  regard  which,  in  their  more  prosperous 
days,  led  them  to  invite  him  to  revisit  them  and  preach 
the  dedication  sermon  of  their  new  and  greatly  superior 
house  of  worship,  which  was  set  apart  for  the  service  of 
God  on  the  30th  day  of  January,  1876. 

From  Kingston  Dr.  J.  J.  Porter  was  called  to  supply 
the  Westminster  church,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  July,  1850, 
where  he  remained  seven  years.  In  1857,  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Union  church,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  In  1864  he 
left  St.  Louis  to  become  pastor  in  Watertown,  N.  Y. 
His  last  pastoral  charge  was  Phelps,  from  1881  to  1891. 
Retiring,  he  resided  at  Watertown.  Hamilton  College, 
N.  Y. ,  had  honored  Mr.  Porter  with  the  degree  of  D.  D., 
in  1867.  He  still  lives,  but  is  retired  from  the  active 
work  of  the  ministry  after  a  long,  honorable  and 
successful  career. 


XVI. 


THE  REV.  CORNELIUS  RUSTER  LANE,  D.  D. 


THE  Rev.  Cornelius  Ruster  Lane,  D.  D.,  was  a 
member  of  the  same  class  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  as  Dr.  Porter  and  Dr.  Bittenger  who  came  into 
the  Presbytery  a  little  in  advance  of  him.  Mr.  Lane  was 
born  June  27,  1820,  at  Pluckamin,  N.  J.,  of  Christian 
parents,  and  so  carefully  and  tenderly  trained  from 
infancy  that  he  never  lost  that  child-like  simplicity  which,, 
when  maintained,  adds  beauty  and  strength  to  any  life, 
and  reflects  honor  upon  the  Christian  nurture  which 
secures  it.  Mr.  Lane  lost  his  father  in  early  life,  but  his 
excellent  Christian  mother,  who  had  no  other  children, 
was  never  long  separated  from  him  during  his  lifetime. 

He  was  graduated  from  Lafayette  College,  Pa., 
1843,  and  engaged  for  a  time  in  teaching,  after  which  he 
entered  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  1844,  in  which 
he  was  a  diligent  and  successful  student,  enjoying  the 
esteem  and  confidence  both  of  the  faculty  and  his  fellow 
students.  He  continued  his  studies  beyond  the  usual 
three  years'  course.  Having  a  fondness  for  mathematics, 
he  acquired  the  habit  of  aiming  to  secure  that  which  is 
equivalent  to  mathematical  demonstration,  in  all  the 
conclusions  which  satisfied  him  in  his  examination  of  any 
matter  which  was  to  him  a  subject  of  reflection  or 
decision.  His  mind  was  trained  for  profound  investi- 
gation.    He  loved  study. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 83 

This  was  the  man  who,  in  the  summer  of  1848,  was 
invited  to  take  charge  of  Tunkhannock  church,  and 
its  outposts  through  the  county  of  Wyoming,  still  a 
comparatively  new  county,  which  had  been  recently 
carved  out  of  Luzerne, 

The  church  at  Tunkhanuock,  as  already  noted,  was 
organized  in  1833,  but  had  made  little  progress,  simply 
holding  its  ground,  and  had  not  sallied  out  in  aggressive 
work.  Its  pulpit  supplies  were  frequently  changed;  most 
of  them  living  off  the  field;  the  services  were  not 
frequent,  and  were  sometimes  interrupted. 

Among  those  who  ministered  to  the  Tunkhannock 
church  were  Isaac  Todd,  from  1833  to  '35.  He  supplied 
Northmoreland  at  the  same  time.  The  Rev.  George 
Printz,  then  pastor  at  Wyalusing,  had  bestowed  labor 
upon  Tunkhannock  before  the  church  was  organized. 
After  Mr.  Todd  the  Rev.  James  Cole  spent  some  time  in 
this  field  in  1837.  Rev.  Sylvester  Dana,  Rev.  James  G. 
Hand,  and  Rev.  B.  Wall  were  on  the  ground  between 
1837  and  1845.  The  Rev.  John  Whelen  Sterling 
preached  there  during  1846.  The  tim.e  spent  by  each 
one  and  the  date  of  service  do  not  appear.  Mr.  Sterling 
spent  about  a  year  on  the  field,  after  which  he  went  to 
Wisconsin  where  he  was  regularly  ordained,  Oct. ,  1846. 
In  Wisconsin  Dr.  Sterling  did  a  noble  work  as  a  minister 
and  a  Christian  educator,  in  connection  with  our 
denominational  college  at  Waukesha,  and  in  the  State 
University  at  Madison.  His  Alma  Mater,  Princeton 
College,  bestowed  on  him  the  degree  of  Ph.  D.  and 
LL.  D.  He  died  at  his  post  in  the  University  of 
Wisconsin,  March  8,  1885. 

The  Rev.    Oren   Brown   supplied  Tunkhannock,  at 


184  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

least  a  part  of  the  time,  between  Dr.  Sterling's  time  and 
the  coming  of  Mr.  Lane. 

Although  Mr.  Lane,  in  College  and  the  Seminary, 
had  been  one  of  the  closest  students,  and  a  lover  of  the 
more  abstract  sciences,  yet  when  he  entered  uj)on  his 
ministry,  he  was  ready  to  take  up  cheerfully  and  dili- 
gently, every  part  of  ministerial  and  i)arochial  work.  To 
him  it  mattered  not  whether  the  duty  was  easy  or  dif- 
ficult, he  never  slighted  the  easy  work  nor  was  he  deterred 
by  the  difficult. 

As  an  illustration  of  this,  he  once  said  to  the  writer, 
"  I  would  prepare  as  carefully  to  preach  if  I  was  to  ad- 
dress a  congregation  of  Comanche  Indians,  as  for  the 
most  refined  city  church."  He  began  as  a  Home  Mis- 
sionary. He  was  ordained  as  an  evangelist,  Nov.  30, 
1848,  the  tenth  in  order  of  ordination  in  the  Presbytery. 
He  generally  preached  three  times  every  Sabbath,  twice  in 
Tunkhannock,  once  in  Meshoppen,  La  Grange,  or  some 
other  point ;  and  to  reach  these  outposts,  he  usually 
walked.  Nor  did  he  ever  complain  of  the  task.  He 
loved  the  Master.  He  loved  his  work.  He  loved  his 
fellow  men.  He  never  entertained  an  idea  that  he  could 
do  more  for  humanity  by  something  aside  from  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  He  loved  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  doc- 
trine and  polity  by  which  it  is  characterized  ;  yet  no  man 
had  a  more  catholic  spirit  or  co-operated  more  cordially 
with  his  fellow  Christians  of  every  name,  not  only  in  dis- 
tinctively Christian  work,  but  in  any  philanthropic  and 
moral  enterprise.  With  regard  to  the  mission  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  or  the  good  it  had,  under  God,  ac- 
complished in  the  world,  Dr.  Lane  held  that  its  influence 
for  good  has  been  as  great  beyond  as  within  its  own  pale. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 85 

He  received  the  Calvinistic  system  of  doctrine  cor- 
dially, as  that  which  is  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  and  is 
in  accord  with  sound  philosophy.  He  thoroughly  under- 
stood it,  and  the  history  of  doctrine  as  it  has  been  advo- 
cated or  opposed  in  all  ages.  And  from  his  study  of 
history,  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  agents  who 
have  been  successful  in  the  uplifting  of  humanity,  the 
permanent  advance  in  morality,  in  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  have  been  animated  by  Calvinistic  or  cognate 
views  or  sentiments  of  doctrine  and  philosophy,  although 
not  always  connected  with  a  knowledge  of  the  true  and 
living  God. 

Although  a  profound  and  abstract  thinker,  Dr.  L's 
sermons  were  simple  and  comprehensive  statements  of 
Scriptural  truths  sustained  by  reasons  which,  to  minds 
trained  to  thinking,  amounted  almost  to  demonstration  ; 
but  to  others,  perhaps,  needed  more  of  familiar  illustra- 
tion to  keep  the  attention  duly  fixed.  He,  however, 
during  his  first  term  of  service  in  Wyoming  county,  ex- 
erted such  an  influence,  and  left  such  an  impression  on 
the  church  and  comnmnity,  that  when  he  was  called  away 
to  another  field,  it  was  with  great  reluctance  that  the  peo- 
ple saw  him  depart  with  his  estimable  wife  and  his  good 
mother;  and  as  soon  as  they  discovered  any  reason  to 
hope  that  he  might  be  induced  to  return,  they  put  forth 
such  efforts  to  have  him  do  so  as  proved  successful.  After 
two  or  three  years  he  did  return  as  pastor-elect  of  the 
Tunkhannock  church.  He  was  principal  of  the  Luzerne 
Presbyterial  Institute  at  Wyoming  during  its  most  prosper- 
ous period.     Of  this  Institution  we  will  have  more  to  say. 

During  Mr.  Lane's  absence  from  Tunkhannock,  the 
Rev.   Augustus   Theodore    Dobson   supplied   the   church 


1 86  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

there,  in  connection  with  Northmoreland.  Mr.  Dobson 
was,  at  the  time,  a  licentiate,  and,  like  Mr.  Lane,  had 
graduated  at  Lafayette  College  and  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary.  After  leaving  Tunkhannock  he  was  ordained 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Long  Island  and  installed  pastor  of 
the  Moriches  church  from  Oct.  30,  1853  to  1869.  He 
was  afterwards,  from  '69  to  '81,  pastor  of  the  Third 
church  of  Chester,  Pa.  ;  then  of  the  Darby  church  from 
'82  to  '85.  In  all  these  churches  he  seems  to  have  done 
good  work. 

During  a  part  of  1852,  Dr.  Lane  acted  as  agent  of 
Lafayette  College,  and  at  the  same  time  was  stated  supply 
of  Warren  church,  Susquehanna  Presbytery. 

In  1853,  he  returned  to  his  work  at  Tunkhannock 
and  was  formally  installed  pastor,  which  relation  he  sus- 
tained till  187 1,  or  after  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne 
ceased  to  exist.  Soon  after  his  return  to  Wyoming 
county,  he  accepted  the  office  of  County  Superintendent 
of  Schools,  which  position  he  filled  so  well  that  he  was 
subsequently  called  to  serve  another  term.  By  doing  this 
work  in  the  schools,  he  not  only  furnished  valuable  ser- 
vices to  the  cause  of  public  education,  but  also  thus 
enabled  the  mission  he  occupied  to  have  preaching  and 
pastoral  services  all  the  time.  He  also  relieved  our  Board 
of  Domestic  Missions  from  assisting  in  sustaining  a  mission 
church  and  its  out-posts. 

The  growth  of  the  church  at  Tunkhannock  was  not 
rapid,  but  its  gradual  and  steady  progress  was  of  such  a 
character  as  to  give  it  stability.  A  good  Sabbath  School 
had  been  maintained  from  the  beginning,  though  the  for- 
mal history  of  it  has  not  been  preserved,  nor  is  it  at  all 
probable  that  it  was,  during  its  entire  history,  conducted 
as  a  Presbyterian  school. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 8/ 

The  evidence  of  growth  and  vigor  appears  in  the 
gathering  of  the  friends  of  the  congregation  on  the  4th  of 
July,  1867,  to  lay  the  corner  stone  of  a  new  house  of 
worship  which  had  been  projected,  and,  something  like 
a  year  afterwards,  in  the  coming  together  of  another  and 
larger  congregation  to  dedicate  the  completed  structure 
to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God.  The  old  sanctuary  was 
not  worn  out,  for  it  was  destined  to  shelter  another  wor- 
shiping assembly.  The  Baptists  bought  and  used  it.  It 
had  become  unsuitable  for  the  Presbyterian  congregation, 
which  had  erected  it  in  1834,  at  a  cost  of  ^2,000.  The 
new  one  had  been  built  at  five  times  that  cost.  This  work 
was  not  done  without  the  careful  and  prudent  business 
ability  of  the  pastor  being  called  into  requisition,  and  now 
it  stands  as  a  monument  to  his  usefulness  and  success  at 
Tunkhannock.  Others  appear  in  different  parts  of  his 
wide  field.  For  while  there  had  been  preaching  from 
time  to  time  since  1815  in  the  general  neighborhood  of 
Meshoppen,  and  somewhat  regularly,  more  recently  at 
the  same  place,  by  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Sterling  and  Rev.  H. 
H.  Welles,  yet  the  work  connected  with  the  organization 
of  a  church  of  our  denomination  there,  and  in  securing 
for  the  congregation  a  house  of  worship,  was  accomplished 
during  Dr.  Lane's  ministry.  The  formal  organization  of 
a  church  took  place  in  1850.  Seventeen  members  were 
enrolled,  and  Messrs.  Edward  Storm  and  Robert  Clayton 
were  the  first  elders.  The  house  of  worship  was  secured 
for  the  congregation  at  a  cost  of  ;^  1,200.  Subsequently 
it  was  furnished  with  a  fine  bell  worth  $225.  While  these- 
material  things  show  the  prosperity  of  the  work  of  Dr. 
Lane,  his  best  monument  is  the  influence  he  exerted 
upon  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the  people. 


1 88  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

As  a  presbyter,  he  was  promptly  and  uniformly  at 
his  post,  fully  comprehending  the  work  to  be  done  and 
having  settled  in  his  own  mind  what  he  regarded  as  the 
best  methods  for  its  accomplishment,  he  was  prepared  to 
be  an  intelligent  leader  in  Presbyterial  meetings.  He 
was,  however,  the  last  man  to  assume  leadership,  and 
always  cheerfully  acquiesced  in  the  will  of  the  majority, 
for  he  respected  the  opinions  of  others. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  N.  G.  Parke,  who  knew  him  longer 
and  more  intimately  than  the  writer,  says  of  him  in  a 
memorial  sermon,  soon  after  Dr.  Lane's  work  ended  :  "In 
the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  there  was  no  more  cheerful 
worker  than  Dr.  Lane,  and  no  one  more  ready  to  help  his 
brethren.  He  was  rarely,  if  ever,  absent  from  a  stated 
meeting  of  Presbytery  when  able  to  be  present,  and  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  ecclesiastical  law  made  his  counsel 
in  Presbytery  very  helpful.  His  voice  in  our  ecclesiastical 
courts,  and  everywhere  else,  was  always  for  peace.  He 
was  a  man  of  peace.  He  had  his  own  views,  and  he  was 
not  afraid  to  defend  them,  but  he  never  did  this  in  an 
aggressive  way." 

Dr.  Parke  says  with  reference  to  Dr.  Lane's  work  as 
a  pastor  and  teacher,  "It  is  now  a  score  of  years  since 
Dr.  Lane  left  Tunkhannock,  but  the  work  he  did  here*  as 
an  educator,  a  pastor,  a  preacher,  a  kind  neighbor,  a 
sympathizing  friend  and  counsellor,  a  cheerful  companion, 
an  intelligent,  upright  citizen,  a  loving  husband  and 
father,  remains,  and  will  remain.  A  generation  has 
indeed  grown  up  here,  who  knew  him  not,  but  those  who 
were  his  boys,  who  where  at  home  in  his  study,  and  in 
his  bible-class,  and   whom   he  taught   to   think,  and  who 

*This  sermon  was  delivered  at  Tuukhannock. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE,  1 89 

felt  the  moulding  power  of  his  life,  have  not  forgotten 
him.  They  are  stronger,  broader,  wiser  and  better  men 
because  of  the  influence  that  has  gone  into  their  lives 
from  his  life." 

In  view  of  Dr.  Lane's  studious  life,  habits  of  profound 
thought,  thoroughly  trained  mind,  and  his  intense 
interest  in  all  the  important  questions  which  agitated  his 
generation,  he  did  not  use  the  press  with  the  frequency 
and  to  the  extent  that  might  have  been  expected  of  so 
capable  a  writer.  What  he  has  published  shows  his 
ability  in  that  direction. 

His  paper  on  "The  Will",  originally  published  in 
"The  Reformed  Quarterly  Review",  July,  1885,  is  a 
clear,  strong  treatise,  and  if  not,  in  every  particular,  a 
demonstration,  it  is,  nevertheless,  the  production  of  a 
"master  of  sentences"  on  that  subject.  He  had  evidently 
thoroughly  canvassed  the  quesion,  as  treated  in  the  whole 
range  of  literature.  His  pamphlet  is  worthy  of  careful 
study.  He  wrote  other  articles  for  the  above  named 
Review,  and  various  other  magazines. 

Dr.  Lane  was  still  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne,  when,  at  the  Reunion,  it  was  merged  into  the 
Presbytery  of  Lackawanna  and  Lehigh.  He  was  elected 
Professor  of  Mathematics  in  Wilson  College  in  1871,  and 
removed  to  Chambersburg,  Pa. ,  much  to  the  regret  of  his 
brethren  with  whom  he  had  been  so  long  and  lovingly 
associated.  No  one  had  been  held  in  higher  esteem  by 
all  who  knew  him.  He  retired  from  his  professorship  in 
1876,  but  continued  to  reside  in  Chambersburg,  quietly 
doing  such  evangelistic  work  as  his  health  and  oppor- 
tunities enabled  him  to  undertake,  in  the  meantime 
pursuing  such  studies  as  were  most  congenial  to   him. 


IQO  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Hanover  College  had  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  Ph. 
D.  in  1875,  and  Franklin  and  Marshall  College  that  of 
D.  D.  in  1887.     These  honors  were  deserved, 

Mrs.  Lane  had  entered  into  her  heavenly  home 
before  her  husband.  The  Doctor  left  two  daughters  to 
mourn  his  departure.  His  eldest  daughter,  Mary,  married 
George  Miles  Welles,  M.  D.,  and  resided  with  her  hus- 
band in  Wayne,  Pa.  Her  sister  Jane  is  unmarried,  and 
resides  in  the  homestead  in  Chambersburg,  which  her 
father  had  bequeathed  to  her.  Three  children  died  in 
infancy.     Mrs.  Lane's  maiden  name  was  Stroud. 


XVII. 
BERWICK  AND  PORT  CARBON. 

BERWICK  and  Briar  Creek  churches  were  set  off  by 
the  General  Assembly  to  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne 
from  that  of  Northumberland,  but  after  a  few  years  they 
were  restored  to  their  former  Presbytery,  and  while  their 
history  will  more  properly  belong  to  Northumberland 
Presbytery,  yet  during  the  time  they  were  in  association 
with  Luzerne,  important  Presbyterial  functions  were  ex- 
cised in  connection  with  these  congregations,  especially 
Berwick,  where  at  least  two  stated  meetings  of  Presbytery 
were  held  while  it  was  under  the  care  of  this  body,  one 
ordination  administered,  and  ministers  received  with 
reference  to  the  field  embracing — it  is  supposed — both 
congregations. 

At  its  first  meeting,  the  Rev.  Aaron  H.  Hand  was 
received  from  a  Presbytery  in  Michigan.  Dr.  Hand  was 
born  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  3,  181 1.  He  was  graduated 
from  Williams  College  1835,  and  from  Princeton 
Seminary,  1837.  He  was  stated  supply  at  Berwick  some 
three  years.  He  had  previously  held  the  same  relation  to 
the  churches  of  Marietta  and  Roswell,  in  Georgia.  After 
leaving  Berwick,  he  was  the  honored  and  useful  pastor  of 
the  Greenwich  church.  New  Jersey,  for  nearly  twenty 
years.  During  that  time  he  was  honored  by  Lafayette 
College  with  the  degree  of  D.  D.  He  died  in  Easton, 
Pa.,  March  3,  1880. 


192  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

The  church  at  Berwick  was  served  by  the  Rev. 
Alexander  Hebertoii  as  pastor  from  1845  to  '48.  This 
brought  him  a  second  time  in  connection  with  a  number 
of  his  former  co-presbyters,  then  in  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne,  but  formerly  in  Susquehanna.  Of  course  the 
church  had  from  Mr.  Heberton  a  faithful  and  efficient 
ministry.  After  Mr.  Heberton  left  to  become  pastor  at 
Williamsport,  Berwick,  in  1848,  secured  the  services 
of  the 

REV.    JAMES    FERGUSON    KENNEDY, 

a  recent  graduate  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 
who,  while  he  had  preached  for  more  than  a  year  at 
Fayetteville  and  Waynesboro,  Pa. ,  was  still  a  licentiate. 
He  was  born  in  Warren  county,  N.  J.,  Sept,  27,  1824, 
and  we  find  him  a  graduate  of  Lafayette  College  in  1839, 
or  when  sixteen  years  old.  After  leaving  college  he 
engaged  in  the  study  of  medicine  for  a  time,  but  his 
mind  seems  to  have  been  turned  to  the  ministry,  for 
in  1844  we  find  him  in  Princeton  Seminary,  where  he 
was  a  diligent  and  successful  student,  standing  high  in 
scholarship  and  general  excellence  of  character.  After 
preaching  for  some  months  in  Berwick,  he  was  ordained 
and  installed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  Dec.  12, 
1848.  Mr.  Kennedy's  was  the  eleventh  ordination.  =J= 
Thus  he  entered  upon  a  promising  career,  as  he  was  well 
furnished  for  and  devoted  to  his  work;  but  in  1850  he 
was  obliged  to  relinquish  it  at  Berwick  on  account  of 
failing  eye-sight.  He  did  not,  however,  cease  from 
preaching  after  leaving  Berwick  church.  For  the  next 
four  years  he  was  stated  supply  at  Fayetteville;    at  the 

*Mr.  Lane's  was  the  teuth. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 93 

same  time  teaching,  as  Principal  at  Chambersburg; 
continuing  to  teach  till  1855,  and  during  the  last  year  of 
this  term  supplying  Dickinson.  Residing  in  Chambers- 
burg,  Mr.  Kennedy  has  still  been  occupied  in  teaching 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  to  the  present,  at  the  same 
time  preaching  a  good  deal  as  stated  supply  of  contiguous 
churches.  He  was  professor  of  Ancient  Languages  in 
Wilson  College  from  1869  to  '76.  He  is  now  honorably 
retired,  and  has  been  entirely  blind  for  many  years.  As 
we  have  seen,  he  has  been  a  remarkably  active  and  useful 
man.  His  merits  were  recognized  by  his  Alma  Mater  in 
1872  with  the  honorary  degree  of  D.  D. 

Dr.  J.  F.  Kennedy  and  Dr.  C.  R.  Lane  were  class- 
mates and  intimate  friends  ever  since  college  days,  and 
long  resided  in  the  same  city. 

After  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Kennedy  from  the  pas-^ 
torate  of  the  Berwick  church,  it  was  supplied  for  a  time 
by  a  licentiate,  John  Jeptha  Morgan,  during  185 1  and 
'52.  Mr.  Morgan  was  a  graduate  of  Lafayette  College 
and  had  studied  in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  He 
never  in  any  regular  manner  became  connected  with  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne.  As  we  learn  from  the  stated 
clerk,  Rev.  P.  H.  Brooks,  of  the  Lackawanna  Presbytery, 
(which  became  the  custodian  of  the  records  of  the  Lu- 
zerne Presbytery),  that  when  an  informal  application  was 
presented  to  the  latter  Presbytery  for  permission  on  part 
of  the  Berwick  congregation  to  apply  to  the  General 
Assembly  to  be  set  off  to  the  Presbytery  of  Northumber- 
land, "The  Presbytery  declined  to  take  any  action 
and  directed  its  stated  clerk  to  write  to  Mr.  Morgan, 
then  supplying  the  church,  that  licentiates  laboring  in  its 
bounds,  were  expected  to  put  themselves  under  its  care." 


194  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Mr.  Morgan  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Long 
Island,  Jan.  20,  1853,  and  was  subsequently  pastor  of  the 
Bridesburg  church,  Pa.;  then  of  Hempstead  church,  L.  I., 
and  afterward  a  teacher  or  principal  in  the  same  place. 
He  was  re-ordained  by  an  Episcopal  Bishop,  April  6, 
1870,  and  was  rector  at  Altoona,  Pa.,  187 1  and  '72,  and 
afterwards  a  physician  in  Hempstead,  N.  Y.  Berwick 
church  in  1852,  and  Briar  Creek  in  1854,  were  trans- 
ferred to  Northumberland  Presbytery  by  the  General 
Assembly. 

Port  Carbon  church  in  Schuylkill  Co.,  Pa.,  was  one 
of  the  organizations  named  in  the  original  petition  for  a 
Presbytery,  and  was  set  over  to  Luzerne  from  the  Second 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia. 

With  regard  to  its  history  we  gather  the  following 
facts  from  a  sermon  by  the  Rev.  S.  Augustus  Davenport, 
July  2nd.  1876,  who  was  at  that  time  its  pastor.  He  says 
that  the  first  movement  in  the  direction  of  church  life  was 
a  meeting  held  August  27,  1832,  in  the  house  of 
Henry  Porter,  Esq.,  in  reference  to  erecting  a  Presby- 
iterian  church.  Lots  had  already  been  given,  on  Grand 
strei  t,  by  Messrs.  William  Landon,  Bright,  Wallace  & 
Co.,  with  building  materials  that  were  on  the  ground. 
Another  meeting  was  held  August  3,  1833,  at  which  there 
was  no  minister  present,  to  take  steps  toward  the 
organization  of  a  church.  What  was  done  is  not 
recorded,  but  we  find  that  a  house  of  worship  was 
dedicated  May  16,  1834.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Rev. 
Sylvester  Haight  had  been  engaged  as  stated  supply  for  a 
part  of  his  time,  and  $400  had  been  pledged  toward  his 
support,  and  on  April  2,  '34,  the  church  organization 
was  officially  constituted,  but  by  whom  does  not  appear. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 95 

The  original  members  were  Henry  Porter  and  wife, 
William  Bodyshall  and  wife,  Elizabeth  Whiting  from  Dr. 
Livingston's  church,  Philadelphia,  Dr.  J.  J.  Foster, 
wife  and  daughter,  Ruth  S.  Foster,  from  Woodbury, 
N.  J.,  Mrs.  Clarissa  Haight  and  three  daughters,  Jessie 
Turner,  Hugh  McCracken,  and  Jane  Falls  of  Pottsville 
church. 

Elisha  Warne,  Henry  Porter  and  Dr.  J.  J.  Foster 
were  elected  elders;  Mr.  Warne  declining  the  office  at 
that  time. 

As  usual  the  Sabbath  School  antedates  the  church 
organization,  having  been  started  April  ist,  183 1,  with 
105  members. 

The  Rev.  Sylvester  Haight  seems  to  have  been  the 
first  regular  minister.  He  supplied  the  congregation  one 
year.  The  next  supply  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sellers  of  the 
German  Reformed  church.  The  Port  Carbon  church 
appears  not  at  first  to  have  been  taken  under  the  care 
of  any  Presbytery. 

The  Rev.  Robert  McCartee,  D.  D.,  subsequently 
pastor  in  New  York  City,  succeeded  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sellers 
upon  a  salary  of  $800,  and  manse,  continuing  his  charge 
till  1840,  and  we  learn  that  about  the  close  of  his 
ministry  the  church  was  taken  under  the  care  of  the 
Second  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  The  church  at  that 
time  had  60  members.  Soon  after  Dr.  McCartee  left,  an 
elderly  Scotch  minister  by  the  name  of  Jardine  supplied 
the  church  one  year;  a  learned  and  able  man,  but  the 
people  complained  that  they  could  not  understand  him. 
He  seems  to  have  been  a  Highlander. 

In  1842,  and  through  a  part  of  '43,  a  young  man 
just  from  Princeton  Seminary,  Mr.  Garrett  Van  Artsdalen, 


196  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

ministered  to  the  church,  and  during  his  time  there  was 
deep  interest  and  a  large  ingathering.  It  was  just  after 
Mr.  Van  Artsdalen's  time  that  the  Port  Carbon  church 
was  set  over  to  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  by  the  General 
Assembly,  May,  1843. 

The  Rev.  George  Printz,  just  before  his  retirement 
from  the  active  ministry,  supplied  Port  Carbon  some  six 
months,  after  which  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  his 
native  city,  Reading,  and  for  twenty  years  he  filled  the 
office  of  Alderman  with  great  dignity  and  wisdom. 
Thus,  while  unable  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  pastorate, 
he  was  active  and  useful,  and  of  him  it  is  justly  said : 
"He  was  an  upright  man,  a  consistent  and  devoted 
Christian,  a  faithful  preacher,  a  greatly  respected  citizen 
and  magistrate."      He  died  April  6,  1881. 

The  next  supply  at  Port  Carbon  was  Mr.  John  A. 
Reiley,  also  a  Princeton  student  and  licentiate,  who 
continued  for  more  than  a  year,  and  although  called  to 
the  pastorate,  declined  the  invitation.  He  was  subse- 
quently pastor  of  several  churches  in  N.  J.,  and  did  good 
service.     He  died  in  East  Feliciana,  La.,  Sept.  25,  1878. 

The  next  minister  was  the  Rev,  William  Wilson 
Bonnell,  who  served  as  stated  supply  in  Port  Carbon  from 
1845  to  1846.  Mr.  Bonnell,  a  graduate  of  Washington 
College,  Pa. ,  a  student  in  Princeton  Seminary  during  part 
of  the  course,  and  for  a  time  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  was  afterwards  ordained  by 
the  German  Reformed  Classis,  July  10,  1842.  He  began 
ministrations  in  Pottsville  during  his  term  at  Port  Carbon, 
which  seems  to  have  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the 
Central  Presbyterian  church  in  that  city;  and  in  1S46  he 
became   stated   supply    of    the    new    church    which   the 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  1 9/ 

Luzerne  Presbytery  had  organized  in  Pottsville.*  Mr. 
Bonnell  was  an  aggressive  and  efficient  minister.  After 
leaving  the  Presbytery  in  1848,  he  became  Principal  of  a 
Female  Seminary  in  Frankford,  but  his  ministry  was 
terminated  Dec.  i,  1849,  by  the  call  of  the  Master.  He 
had  spent  about  one  year  and  six  months  at  Port  Carbon. 

In  1848,  Mr.  Henry  J.  David,  a  student  in  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary  was  introduced  to  the  church  at 
Port  Carbon.  He  was  a  Prussian,  by  birth  an  Israelite, 
and  possessed  a  pleasant  address.  He  was  regarded  in 
the  seminary  as  bright  and  sincere.  His  conversion  to 
Christianity  did  not  seem  to  be  questioned.  The  church 
at  Port  Carbon  was  pleased  with  him  and  made  out  a 
call  for  his  pastoral  services.  The  Presbytery  of  Luzerne 
being  satisfied  with  his  examination,  proceeded  to  ordain 
and  install  him  as  pastor.  May  9,  1848,  the  ninth 
ordination  by  the  Presbytery.  A  little  more  than  a  year 
afterward,  the  Presbytery  was  called  upon  to  institute 
another  examination,  of  a  greatly  less  satisfactory  char- 
acter, which  resulted  in  the  suspension  of  Henry  J.  David 
from  the  functions  of  a  gospel  minister.  The  church  at 
Port  Carbon  was  again  made  vacant.  Mr.  David  went 
West,  and  seems  to  have  been  lost  sight  of.  This  was,  to 
the  Presbytery  and  former  friends  of  Mr.  David,  a  sad 
and  disappointing  turn  of  affairs.  Is  was,  however,  the 
only  case  of  this  kind  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  ever  had 
to  deal  with,  at  least  among  English  speaking  ministers. 

There  seems  to  have  been  a  brief  interval  between 
the  trial  and  suspension  of  Mr.  David  and  the  time  his 
successor  took  hold  of  the  work  at  Port  Carbon.  In  the 
spring  of  1849,  a  young  man  graduated  from  Princeton 

*Tiie  First  Church  in  Pottsville  was  connected  with  the  N.  S.  Assembly. 


198  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Seminary,  who  had  come  almost  directly  into  that 
institution  from  the  land  which  has  furnished  so  much  of 
the  material  of  which  the  Presbyterian  church  in  this 
country  has  been  constructed,  viz.,  the  North  of  Ireland. 
He  was  a  good  specimen  of  its  healthy  climate  und 
Presbyterian  stability.  He  had  been  graduated  from 
Belfast  College,  before  leaving  his  native  land.  This 
young  man,  Thomas  DeLacey  Wardlaw,  aged  23,  was,  by 
some  instrumentality,  directed  to  Port  Carbon.  He 
came  fully  equipped  for  the  work  upon  which  he  proposed 
to  enter.  The  church  opened  its  pulpit  to  him,  and  after 
they  had  afforded  him  an  ample  opportunity  to  show  his 
ability  and  meetness  for  the  work  they  extended  to  him  a 
formal  call  to  become  their  pastor.  He  was  ordained 
and  installed  January  29,  1S50,  having  been  stated 
supply  for  a  considerable  time.  Under  Mr.  Wardlaw's 
ministry  the  church  became  self  sustaining,  and  has 
continued  so  ever  since.  Mr.  Wardlaw's  ordination  was 
the  13th  in  order. 

Dr.  Wardlaw  resigned  in  1852  and  became  pastor  at 
Paris,  Kentucky,  where  he  continued  four  years,  or  until 
1858.  In  the  meantime  he  seems  to  have  studied 
medicine.  He  was  pastor  at  Clarksville  from  1858  to 
1S67.  In  connection  with  his  pastorate  from  1865,  he 
was  a  physician  and  principal  of  a  Female  Seminary  in 
Shelbyville,  from  1867  to  1879.  He  died  in  Shelby ville^ 
Tenn.,  August  29,  1879.  Stewart  College,  Tenn.,  had 
conferred  on  him  (187 1)  the  degree  of  D.  D. 

After  the  departure  of  Dr.  Wardlaw  from  Port 
Carbon,  the  church  was  for  a  time  supplied  by  the  Rev. 
Ephraim  Saunders,  and  others. 

In  185^,  the  Rev.  Andrew  M.  Lowry  became  stated 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  199 

supply.  He  was  born  in  Northumberland  county,  June 
20,  1820,  and  was  graduated  from  Washington  College, 
Va.  He  was  one  of  the  young  men  who  followed  Dr. 
George  Junkin  to  Virginia,  when  he  left  Lafayette 
College.  He  also  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton  Seminary, 
a  Presbyterian  to  the  manner  born.  After  a  probation  of 
one  year  in  the  Port  Carbon  church,  he  was  called  by  the 
church  to  become  its  settled  pastor,  and  was  ordained 
and  installed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  Oct.  9,  1854. 
He  was  still  pastor  when  the  Presbytery  ceased  to  be  in 
O.  1875,  and  continued  to  hold  his  place  under  the  care  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Lehigh,  till  he  was  obliged  to  relinquish 
it  on  account  of  failure  of  health  in  1874.  He  has  since 
resided  in  Watsontown,  Penn. 

Mr.  Lowry  is  a  modest  man  and  of  retiring 
disposition,  but  possessed  of  good  ability,  mentally  and 
morally.  That  he  retained  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
the  wide  awake  and  somewhat  restless  community  where 
his  lot  was  cast,  through  so  many  years,  indicates  his 
worth. 

The  field  at  Port  Carbon  has  never  been  an  extensive 
one,  and  the  liability  to  frequent  changes,  families 
constantly  coming  and  going,  has  been  a  hindrance  to 
the  growth  of  the  church  there.  It  seems  to  have  had  an 
intelligent  and  efficient  eldership;  prominent  among 
them  was  Jesse  Turner,  who  long  served  as  a  member  of 
the  session.  The  Presbyterian  church  of  Port  Carbon 
has  been  a  power  for  good  in  that  place,  and  is  under  the 
charge  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lehigh. 


ff%  fM^^^,  ^1%  ^'n%  f* 

111  ^M  kiM^  iM  I 


O^; 


XVIII. 


THE  SCRANTON    PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH 
AND  ITS  PASTORS. 

SIX  years  ago  we  visited  Slocum  Hollow  to  look  in 
upon  a  transaction  which  antedated  the  erection  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne.  For  that  transaction,  however, 
said  Presbytery  soon  became  a  responsible  party,  and  was 
vitally  interested  in  the  results  of  what  had  been  done. 
This  was  the  organizing  of  a  Presbyterian  church  for  the 
Lackawanna  Valley,  in  which  Slocum  Hollow  was  even 
then  regarded  as  an  important  point,  although  only  hav- 
ing a  population  of  two  or  three  hundred  people.  The 
church,  of  course,  was  designed  for  such  of  that  number 
as  affiliated  with  it,  recognizing  its  mission,  and  for  those 
■who,  in  the  future,  would  be  attracted  thither  by  the 
unknown  and  undeveloped  mineral  wealth  of  the  locality, 
and  who  might  be  won  to  co-operation  with  it  in  search- 
ing for,  or  in  receiving  and  distributing,  the  more  precious 
''hid  treasure"  which  is  to  be  found  by  every  one 
persuaded  to  seek  it. 

Our  visit  now  is  not  to  Slocum  Hollow  or  the  dark 
hollow  of  the  past,  but  to  Harrison.  The  man  who 
opened  the  way  to  the  extensive  business  we  now  see  pro- 
jected, in  what  was  only  a  short  time  before  a  dark  and 
gloomy  wilderness,  was  William  Henry.  He  properly 
estimated  the  importance  and  possibilities  of  the  place 
now    realized   by   others.      This   gave   that   enterprising 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  201 

pioneer  in  Slocum  Hollow  such  influential  standing  in  the 
rising  community,  that  his  suggestions  and  recommen- 
dations would  be  favorably  regarded.  Therefore,  upon 
his  motion,  the  place  was  given  the  name  of  Harrison,  in 
honor  of  the  Hero  of  Tippecanoe,  the  ninth  President  of 
the  United  States,  in  whose  election  Mr.  Henry  had 
been  deeply  interested.  The  Slocum  family  was  an  old 
one  in  this  part  of  the  valley.  Its  members  having  long 
been  the  active  and  aggressive  business  men  of  the  com- 
munity, their  name,  long  a  familiar  one  to  the  oldest  in- 
habitants, seemed  to  cling  to  the  place,  so  that  the  name 
Harrison  was  not  universally  adopted.  The  post  office 
had  not  been  re-established  in  what  was  designed  to  be 
called  Harrison,*  and  when  afterward,  in  1850,  it  was 
restored,  the  name  Harrison  seems  to  have  already  been 
pre-empted  in  the  State.  By  that  time  new  names  had 
been  familiarly  associated  with  the  new  and  more  im- 
posing business  operations  in  progress,  and  it  was  sought 
to  honor  the  name  now  most  on  the  tongues  of  the  peo- 
ple in  connection  with  business.  But  because,  probably, 
of  the  modesty  of  the  men  whom  the  people  sought  to 
honor,  that  name  was  somewhat  disguised  by  a  Latin 
termination.  So  under  the  name  of  Scrantonia  the  post 
office  was  opened.  A  year  after,  however,  the  direct  and 
worthy  name  of  Scranton  was  properly  adopted  and  its 
propriety  universally  recognized.  Hereafter  in  this  nar- 
rative we  will  take  the  liberty  of  using  it  even  when  we 
speak  of  events  which  antedate  its  adoption,  as  now,  we 
dwell  on  the  progress  made  between  1842  and  1848,  or 
at  our  second  visit. 

The  partial  success    in    the    use    of  anthracite  coal 

*In  former  years  the    P.  O.  was    in    the    centre    of  the    new    business 
operations. 


202  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

attained  in  1842,  in  the  manufacture  of  iron,  proved  a 
complete  success  in  1843.  The  patience,  energy  and 
perseverance  of  Messrs.  Scrantons,  Grant  and  Co.,  were 
rewarded.  New  iron  mines  were  opened,  railroads  were 
built  to  convey  ore  to  the  furnaces  and  other  roads  im- 
proved, in  order  to  make  it  easier  to  cart  the  iron  to  the 
still  distant  railroads  and  canals  over  which  much  of  it 
must  pass  to  reach  a  market.  The  original  company  had 
been  enlarged  by  new  members,  and  the  capital  stock  in- 
creased from  time  to  time.  The  company  had  also  been 
reorganized  for  extended  operations. 

A  number  of  its  new  stockholders  have  become 
active  agents  or  officers  in  its  management.  In  addition 
to  the  manufacture  of  iron  from  the  ore,  new  and  ex- 
tensive plants  have  been  provided  for  the  manufacture  of 
iron  itself  into  the  articles  needed  in  the  general  market, 
from  a  nail  to  a  railroad  bar.  Hundreds  of  tons  have 
been  made  for  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad,  with 
such  expedition  and  so  satisfactorily  as  to  bring  the  great 
railroad  company  under  obligations  to  the  new  and  en- 
terprising Scranton  company  for  furnishing  such  an 
excellent  article  and  for  so  promptly  delivering  it  where 
it  was  wanted,  thus  saving  the  New  York  and  Erie  Com- 
pany from  heavy  forfeiture,  and  enabling  it  to  secure  the 
State  bonus  of  three  million  dollars  which  had  been 
offered  for  compliance  with  certain  conditions.  These 
conditions  the  Erie  company  could  not  have  met  but  for 
the  aid  thus  afforded  it  by  Messrs.  Scranton,  Piatt  &  Co. 
from  their  furnace  and  rolling  mill,  built  in  the  then 
wilderness,  to  which  their  heavy  machinery  had  to  be 
carted  a  long  distance,  and  from  which  their  manu- 
factured iron  was  all  to  be  hauled  an  equal,  and  some  of 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE,  203' 

it  a  much  longer  distance.  Such  are  some  of  the  evi- 
dences that  the  business  of  Scranton  was  in  1848  estab- 
lished, and  in  the  hands  of  able  and  worthy  men.  We 
have  not  indicated  the  painful  labor  and  the  many  dis- 
appointments experienced  in  reaching  this  point,  but  it 
may  be  pertinently  added  just  here,  that  the  success  of 
the  intelligent,  enterprising  and  heroic  men  who  pro- 
jected and  accomplished  the  establishment  of  the  business 
undertaken  in  Slocum  Hollow,  which  built  up  the  city  of 
Scranton  and  made  it  the  fourth  city  in  the  great  com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania,  depended  on  their  moral 
character.  They  might  have  had  the  same  business- 
sagacity,  the  same  measure  of  general  intelligence  and 
enterprise,  and  yet  their  scheme  would  certainly  have 
failed  but  for  their  established  integrity  and  reliability  as- 
men.  This  it  was  which,  in  addition  to  their  intelli- 
gence and  heroic  enterprise,  enlisted  the  capital  of  good 
and  wise  men,  such  men  as  Jno.  I.  Blair  and  James  Blair,, 
of  New  Jersey,  Anson  Phelps,  William  E.  Dodge,  and 
others  in  New  York  city.  Thus  results  were  secured 
which  have  proved  good  for  themselves  and  all  others. 

The  three  Christian  families  which  seem  to  have 
been  found  in  Scranton  when  the  Lackawanna  church 
was  organized  there  in  1842,  have  been  greatly  increased 
during  the  six  years  past.  The  mountain  missionary  had 
been  constantly  at  his  post,  giving  to  Scranton  its  portion 
of  his  labors,  and  good  results  had  followed.  But  the 
present  and  prospective  growth  and  importance  of  Scran- 
ton demanded  a  church  organization  that  centered  in  and 
would  be  controlled,  as  to  its  local  policy  and  measures, 
by  Scranton  Presbyterians.  Their  own  statement  of  the 
then  situation,  as  given  when  the  church  reviewed  twenty- 


204  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

9 

five  years  of  its  church  life,  is  furnished  in  the  sermon  of 
the  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  C.  Logan,  preached  on  that 
occasion. 

After  speaking  of  the  organization  of  the  Lackawanna 
church  in  1842,  and  the  circumstances  of  which  we  have 
already  treated,  Dr.  Logan  said:  "In  June,  1844,  the 
Rev.  N.  G.  Parke,  a  young  man  from  the  Seminary,  with 
a  warm  heart,  and  without  experience,  was  called  to  the 
bisliopric  of  the  scattered  church.  So  wide-spread  was 
the  membership,  that  neither  the  young  jmstor  nor  the 
people  seemed  to  know  definitely  where  the  church  be- 
longed. We  find  the  singular  incident  recorded  of  a 
meeting  at  Harrison,  of  which  a  Mr.  Hutchinson  was 
chairman,  and  one,  J.  C.  Piatt,  secretary,  as  late  as  1848, 
Avhen  a  committee  was  appointed  consisting  of  said 
Hutchinson  and  one  Charles  Fuller,  to  examine  the 
charter  and  by  all  other  available  means  obtain  know- 
ledge which  might  enable  the  people  to  decide  whether 
Lackawanna  church  is  here  or  at  Pittston.  When  ISIr. 
Parke  began  his  labors,  there  were  but  four  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  residing  here,  and  all  the  time 
of  this  discussion  the  larger  body  resided  at  Lackawanna, 
about  three  miles  down  the  valley,  where  by  some  means 
a  site  had  been  selected  and  a  house  of  worship  built, 
which  was  dedicated  in  1848.  In  the  meeting  for  inquiry, 
it  was  reported  that  the  pastor  had  expressed  his  con- 
viction that  the  church  was  here,  which  certainly  was  a 
reasonable  conviction  from  the  fact  that  it  was  organized 
here.  This  church,  with  its  name  changed,  ultimately 
found  its  home  at  Pittston,  where  it  has  enjoyed  the 
efficient  ministrations  of  IMr.  Parke  ever  since.  After 
the  building  of  this  edifice,  (supposed  to  be  near  Lacka- 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  205 

wanna),  Scranton  was  only  occupied  as  a  preaching 
station.  The  Presbyterians  worshiped  with  other  de- 
nominations, and  sustained  a  union  Sabbath  School  with 
them  until,  as  the  most  reasonable  solution  of  the 
questions  arising  from  a  doubtful  location  of  the  Lacka- 
wanna church,  in  the  summer  of  1848  it  was  determined 
to  ask  from  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  a  separate 
organization." 

The  meetings  for  Presbyterian  services  were  at  this 
time,  and  for  some  time  previously,  held  in  what  subse- 
quently was  known  as  the  old  Odd  Fellows'  Hall.  Dr. 
Logan  in  his  sermon  proceeds  to  say  :  "In  this  Hall, 
July  loth,  1848,  a  meeting  of  Presbyterians,  with  their 
adherents,  was  gathered  to  hear  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee appointed  to  learn  the  truth  as  to  the  locus  ubi 
of  the  church  of  Lackawanna.  A  letter  was  read  from  the 
pastor  at  this  meeting  in  which  he  states  his  conviction 
that  the  Harrison,  Lackawanna  and  Pittston  churches 
were  all  one,  and  that  Harrison  must  be  considered  the 
head  of  the  church,  although  it  was  called  Lackawanna. 
At  this  meeting,  after  deliberation  and  consultation,  as 
the  record  states,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  the  in- 
terest of  the  church  required  a  separate  organization  at 
this  point.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Charles  Fuller  was  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  secure  from  Presbytery  such  an 
organization,  to  be  called  the  Church  of  Harrison. 
Another  committee  was  authorized  to  rent  the  '  Odd 
Fellows  Hall'  at  ^10  a  year  for  worship."  Dr.  Logan, 
at  this  point,  gives  us  some  information  as  to  the  char- 
acter and  influence  of  some  of  the  movers  and  active 
agents  in  the  establishment,  and  in  the  subsequent  foster- 
ing, of  this  proposed  new  organization.    We  prefer  to  give 


206  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

information,  without  which  our  narrative  would  be  defec- 
tive, in  his  language,  uttered  originally  in  the  presence  of 
many  living  witnesses  who  fully  comprehended  its  truth  and 
pertinency.  Speaking  of  that  meeting  which  determined 
to  secure  a  new  organization,  he  says:  "  Joseph  H. 
Scranton  was  secretary,  and  it  would  seem,  was  one  of  the 
chief  actors."  He  was  not  one  of  the  original  partners 
in  the  business  transactions  which  were  becoming  so  ex- 
tensive and  promising  when  he  afterwards  came  from 
Augusta,  Georgia,  in  1846;*  nor  was  he  a  brother  of 
George  W.  and  Selden  T.  Scranton,  but  cousin.  He 
became  pre-eminently  the  moving  spirit  in  business 
operations  when  completely  identified  with  them.  The 
firm  of  the  Scrantons  and  Piatt  had  been  formed  in  1846, 
and  on  the  loth  of  June,  1853,  was  merged  into  the 
Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company.  This  business 
association  had  given  a  new  impulse  to  the  little  com- 
munity in  1848,  and  it  had  much  to  do  with  the  material 
advancement  and  character  of  this  city  of  singular  growth 
and  immense  schemes  of  industry. 

The  firm  of  Scranton  and  Piatt  deserves  an  honorable 
mention  in  the  history  of  the  church  organization,  both 
for  the  material  aid  and  the  generous  support  it  has  given 
in  the  building  of  the  church  and  the  maintenance  of  its 
ordinances,  and  in  the  efficient  identification  and  co- 
operation of  its  officers  and  employes  with  it  from  the 
beginning  until  now.  This  church  should  thank  God  for 
the  two  Scrantons  gone,  and  for  such  men  as  William  E. 
Dodge,  S.  T.  Scranton,  and  a  host  among  the  living 
connected  with  this  company,  and  for  the  noble  women 
associated  with  them,  who,  by  their  efforts,  have  ever 
cheered  and  helped  on  its  work. 

*  He  had,  however,  been  identified  at  Scranton  from  1843. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  20/ 

Nor,  let  it  be  understood,  is  mention  made  of  this 
business  association  in  depreciation  of  other  companies 
and  business  associations  of  the  city ;  for  all  these  have 
given  material  help  and  encouragement  in  furtherance 
of  the  work  of  the  church.  This  new  firm  had  just 
begun  to  exercise  its  influence  in  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  the  business  and  social  structure  of  the  community, 
and  its  progress  is  evident  from  a  single  fact.  On  the 
loth  of  July,  1848,  the  meeting  instructed  its  committee 
to  ask  for  an  organization  to  be  called  the  Harrison 
Presbyterian  church,  and  on  the  following  October  the 
organization  was  effected ;  but  in  the  record  of  it,  it 
always  appears  as  "The  First  Presbyterian  church  of 
Scranton,"  or  "  Scrantonia,"  and  no  recorded  reason  ap- 
pears for  such  a  change. 

Further  confirmation  of  Dr.  Logan's  testimony  as  to 
the  friendly  and  helpful  attitude  of  the  greater  and  smaller 
business  firms  created  and  stimulated  by  the  enterprise  at 
Scranton,  toward  the  work  of  the  church  generally  and 
the  Presbyterian  church  especially,  is  indicated  by  the 
utterance  of  the  General  Superintendent  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad,  which  was  completed 
in  1854.  He  (Mr.  Brisben)  said,  "There  is  no  class  of 
men  that  do  more  for  the  protection  of  our  property  all 
along  our  lines  than  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  We  cannot 
aid  in  their  support  by  taking  pews  in  their  churches ; 
we  ought  therefore  to  recognize  our  obligation  to  them  by 
furnishing  them  passes  over  our  lines  of  road."  This 
his  company  did. 

The  work  assigned  Elder  Charles  Fuller  in  July 
resulted  in  the  appointment,  at  the  next  stated  meeting 
of  Presbytery,  of  a  committee  to  visit  Scranton  on  the 


208  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

14th  of  October,  and  organize  the  eighteen  Presbyterian 
members  as  a  local  church.  This  number  had  signed  the 
petition  on  which  Presbytery  acted,  together  with  quite 
a  number  more  who  had  not  been  dismissed  from  the 
churches  to  which  they  belonged.  In  this  we  note  that 
which  from  the  beginning  has  characterized  the  Scranton 
church,  viz.,  its  orderly  proceedings;  it  respects  "law. 
There  were  also  in  the  petition  to  Presbytery  the  names 
of  some  whom  we  find  to  have  been  already  active  and 
wisely  helpful  in  preparing  the  way  to  give  life  and 
character  to  the  church  about  to  be,  and  which  they 
afterward  strengthened  and  adorned  when  the  time  came 
for  which  they  had  waited,  and  they  could  come  into  the 
organization  in  an  orderly  way. 

The  committee  of  Presbytery  consisted  of  Drs.  John 
Dorrance  and  N.  Grier  Parke,  the  two  members  who  had 
been  most  vitally  connected  with  the  development  of  the 
Christian  life  of  the  Lackawanna  valley,  the  latter 
especially  with  the  growth  of  Christian  sentiment  in  the 
rising  city  of  Scranton. 

Dr.  Dorrance  preached  the  sermon  of  the  occasion, 
after  which  the  credentials  of  seventeen  of  the  eighteen 
petitioners  were  presented  and  approved.  One  seems 
not  to  have  been  present.  The  names  were  as  follows, 
and  constituted  the  charter  members :  Seldon  T.  Scran- 
ton, Mrs.  Ellen  C.  Scranton,  George  W.  Scranton,  Mrs. 
Jane  H.  Scranton,  Nathaniel  B.  Hutchinson,  Mrs.  Rebecca 
A.  Hutchinson,  Mrs.  Mary  Coursen,  Mrs.  Sarah  Coursen, 
Miss  Mary  A.  Coursen,  Miss  Catharine  Miller,  Miss 
Temperance  Miller,  Mrs.  Mira  Fellows,  Peter  Clarke, 
James  Hutchinson,  Charles  Fuller,  Richard  HoUenback, 
Simon  Ward.      These  were  formally  constituted  the  First 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  20g 

Presbyterian  church  of  Scranton  (so  the  record  says),  and 
secured  the  new  church  an  hospitable  home  and  habita- 
tion, though  we  are  not  informed  just  how  the  disparity 
between  the  name  in  the  petition  and  in  the  records 
came  about.  But  if  common  consent  was  not  secured  at 
the  time,  it  has  ever  since  been  heartily  accorded. 

Charles  Fuller,  (whom  we  have  already  twice  met,  in 
receiving  like  honor ;  first  at  Kingston,  1836,  subsequently 
at  Wyoming  in  1847  ;)  George  W.  Scranton,  and  N.  B. 
Hutchinson,  were  elected  ruling  elders  by  the  new  church, 
a  wise  use  of  its  organic  power  in  its  first  exercise  of  the 
same.  Mr.  Scranton,  however,  declined  to  assume  the 
functions  of  the  office  tendered  him  .by  his  brethren, 
although  he  was  so  capable.  The  other  brethren  were 
regularly  inducted  into  the  office  of  representatives  and 
rulers  in  the  church,  and  long  and  faithfully  discharged 
its  important  duties. 

Another  commendable  act  on  the  part  of  the  new 
organization  was  the  formal  continuance  of  the  faithful 
services  of  the  pastor  of  the  Pittston  church  for  the. 
remainder  of  the  current  year,  although  so  anxious  to 
have  constant  ministrations,  while  Mr.  Parke  could,  with 
his  other  permanent  engagements,  only  afford  them 
partial  service.  Consequently,  after  the  organization, 
there  were  few  changes  in  ministrations  till  May,  1849. 
Communions  were  observed,  as  they  had  been,  from  time 
to  time. 

Among  those  who  had  been  active  in  measures 
which  had  led  up  to  the  organization,  but  were  waiting 
for  their  letters,  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Piatt  and 
Mrs.  Catherine  S.  S.  Piatt,  who,  in  the  summer  of  1849, 
were  fully  enrolled  as  members,  having  in  the  meantime 


2IO  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

received  their  certificates.  Mr.  Piatt  was  ordained  as  an 
elder  in  187 1,  which  was,  after  having  been  twice  elected 
to  that  office. 

The  Rev.  J.  D.  Mitchell,  who  had  frequently 
supplied  the  pulpit  at  Scranton,  after  the  expiration  of 
Mr.  Parke's  engagement,  was  elected  pastor  in  August, 
1849,  but  he  did  not,  at  that  time,  feel  it  to  be  his  duty 
to  undertake  the  work  there.  The  call  was  renewed  in 
November  of  the  same  year,  and  on  the  i6th  of  December 
he  began  his  ministry,  and  Avas  regularly  installed  on 
April  17th,  1850.  His  ministry  was  brief,  but  brilliant. 
He  was  received  with  enthusiasm,  and  enjoyed  the  hearty 
co-operation  of  the  entire  church,  and  the  confidence  of 
the  community,  which  was  then  prosperous  and  increasing. 
It  was  a  pleasant  field.  The  little  church  was  already 
well  organized  and  equipped  for  aggressive  work.  The 
number  of  efficient  workers  was  rapidly  increasing.  The 
new  element  entering  the  church  readily  assimilated  with 
the  compact  and  earnest  body  to  which  it  became 
attached.  The  years  of  co-operation  in  good  works  had 
prepared  those  thus  associated  for  corporate  and  organic 
life.  In  lieu  of  numbers  and  wealth,  there  was  devotion, 
intelligence  and  zeal.  This,  with  rapid  increase  in 
numbers  and  temporal  prosperity,  was  well  calculated  to 
stimulate  the  efforts  of  a  minister  who  was  already 
zealously  affected,  and  to  make  him  feel  that  his  labors 
were  appreciated.  His  salary,  also,  which  was  $600,  was 
promptly  paid,  and  the  pastor  seems  to  have  been  satisfied 
with  the  amount. 

The  Scranton  congregation  occupied,  for  several 
years,  the  rented  hall  which  it  had  secured  before  the 
organization  of  the  church.      In  it  the  preaching  services 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  2 1  I 

of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  Wednesday  evening  prayer 
meetings  were  held.  This  weekly  prayer  meeting  ante- 
dated the  church.  It  had  been  started  by  N.  B.  and 
James  Hutchinson,  Charles  Fuller,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  H. 
Piatt,  a  noble  band,  to  which  many  have  been,  from  time 
to  time  added.  It  was  and  is  as  "the  two  olive 
trees"  of  Zachariali's  vision  to  the  church.  Yet  while 
unction  was  not  withheld  while  it  occupied  the  rented 
hall,  the  pastor  and  congregation  felt  that  they  must  have 
a  suitable  sanctuary.  A  movement  had  been  made  in 
that  direction  as  early  as  1846,  and  a  subscription  of 
$640  was  obtained  towards  a  church  building  from 
adherents  then  in  Scranton.  Early  in  Dr.  Mitchell's 
ministry,  the  matter  was  agitated  vigorously  and  the 
pastor  made  personal  solicitations  at  home  and  abroad 
for  means  to  build  a  house  of  worship  that  would  meet 
the  demands,  present  and  prospective,  of  the  congre- 
gation. He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  work  and  went 
forth  prayerfully  in  its  performance.  The  writer 
remembers  hearing  him  say  that  on  a  certain  occasion  he 
made  the  matter  one  of  special  prayer  for  success  in 
his  approach  to  parties  whom  he  desired  to  interest  in 
the  enterprise. 

With  regard  to  the  selection  of  a  site  and  several 
other  preliminary  arrangements  for  the  construction  of 
the  proposed  sanctuary,  the  usual  methodical  and  careful 
notations  of  proceedings  in  Scranton  movements  is 
wanting.  They  had  taken  place,  however,  and  satisfac- 
tory results  had  been  secured. 

In  all,  seven  thousand  dollars  were  pledged,  and 
eligible  lots  donated  by  the  "Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal 
Company"   before  a  beginning   was  made  towards   the 


212  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

construction  of  the  building.  Then  i>lans  and  specifica- 
tions prepared  by  Joel  Amsden  were  adopted.  Whereupon 
the  above  named  company  agreed  to  take  the  subscriptions 
and  relieve  the  congregation  of  the  care  and  management 
of  the  construction,  giving  the  congregation  ten  years  to 
provide  for  the  $5,000  needed  to  pay  the  whole  cost. 
This  meant  generosity,  and  business.  The  new  church 
was  dedicated  Sept.  19,  1852,  "with  gladsome  and 
solemn  worship,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Mitchell." 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Logan,  in  his  memorial  sermon  at  the  end 
of  twenty-five  years  of  the  church's  life,  informs  us  that, 
at  the  end  of  the  ten  years  for  which  the  mortgage  was 
given  to  the  Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company,  that 
it  was  promptly  paid  and  the  Company  itself  subscribed 
one  thousand  dollars.  The  church  was  enabled  to  do 
this  through  the  efficient  and  generous  agency  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Dickson,  President  of  the  Hudson  Canal  Co., 
and  Mr.  J.  J.  Albright,  a  Moravian  who  had  joined  the 
communion  of  Scranton  Presbyterian  church,  and,  like 
Mr.  Dickson,  became  one  of  its  most  generous  supporters. 

Between  the  time  of  contracting  the  debt  and  the 
building  of  the  church  and  the  payment  of  the  debt, 
which  amounted  to  1^6,300,  the  congregation  had 
expended  $4,000  in  enlarging  its  church.  This  was 
demanded  to  accommodate  the  worshipers.  It  was  done 
by  erecting  new  sides  to  the  building  and  making  the 
auditorium  81  feet  square.  In  all  this  work,  the  officers 
of  the  church  gratefully  acknowledged  the  aid  aff"orded  by 
the  ladies  of  the  congregation. 

Much  to  the  regret  of  the  congregation.  Dr.  Mitchell 
was  obliged  to  ask  to  be  released  from  his  pastoral  office, 
on  account  of  failure  of  health,  October,  1853.     His  term 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  21  3 

of  service,  though  short,  witnessed  considerable  advance 
in  church  life  and  growth.  A  large  and  beautiful  house 
of  worship  had  been  secured.  There  was  an  increase  in 
membership  of  sixty-seven,  a  great  increase  of  church 
attendance,  and  in  the  Sabbath  Schools  in  which,  as  well 
as  through  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  much  seed  had 
been  sown. 

Of  pastor  Mitchell's  work,  Judge  Hand  said,  many 
years  after  it  had  been  performed,  "The  Rev,  Mr. 
Mitchell,  whose  eloquence  has  not  yet  ceased  to  ring  in 
the  ears  of  many  here,  will  be  remembered  for  his 
cultivated  taste  and  his  genial  good  humor,"  and,  by  way 
of  refreshing  the  memory  of  Dr.  Mitchell  he  read  to  the 
meeting  a  letter  from  the  former  pastor  in  response  to  the 
church's  invitation  to  be  present  on  the  occasion  of  the 
quarter  century  celebration,  from  which  letter  we  learn 
what  were  Dr.  Mitchell's  feelings  towards  the  Scranton 
church  and  the  Master.  After  acknowledging  the 
invitation,  and  expressing  regret  that  he  would  be  unable 
to  be  present,  Dr.  Mitchell  said:  "As  one  who  in  the 
early  part  of  this  quarter  century  was  identified  with  the 
interests  and  struggles  of  the  then  infant  church,  I  would 
gladly  be  with  you  in  person  to  share  in  the  rejoicing  of 
that  church,  now  grown  mature  in  prosperity  as  she  has 
grown  to  maturity  in  years.  You  and  I,  with  a  few 
others  that  remain,  have  vivid  recollections  of  the  time 
when  your  now  prosperous  church  and  congregation  (like 
the  infant  village  which  has  now  grown  into  the  city  of 
Scranton)  were  very  feeble,  few  in  numbers,  and  limited 
in  means.  But  Jehovah  was  with  us  in  that  day  of  small 
things,  and  under  his  blessing  the  little  one  has  become  a 
thousand.       And  it  is  meet,  upon  the  coming  anniversary 


214  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

that  the  people  whom  God  has  so  richly  blessed  should 
recount  his  mercies,  and  express  their  gratitude." 

After  a  touching  reference  to  beloved  members  of 
the  congregation  who  had  passed  away  during  the 
twenty-five  years,  and  a  solemn  appeal  to  such  as  had 
heard  the  gospel's  calls  and  warnings  through  all  that 
time  and  yet  had  not  yielded  their  hearts  to  Christ,  he 
closes  with  earnest  and  affectionate  wishes  for  the 
continued  prosperity  of  the  church  and  the  abiding 
presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  His  still  more  abundant 
fruits  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  its  members. 

The  whole  letter — only  a  brief  extract  from  which 
could  here  be  given — shows  what  was  the  spirit  and  aim 
of  the  first  pastor  of  the  Scranton  church,  in  his  devoted 
ministrations  to  its  people. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  D.  Mitchell  still  lives,  and,  since 
resigning  his  charge  of  the  church  at  Scranton,  has 
ministered  in  various  places,  as  the  condition  of  his 
health  permitted.  Soon  after  leaving  Scranton  he 
returned  to  Wyoming  and  had  charge  of  the  Presbyterial 
Institute  in  that  place  from  1853  to  1855,  and  was  stated 
supply  of  Wyoming  church  during  1855  and  1856,  after 
which  he  spent  some  time  in  Scranton  without  a  formal 
charge. 

In  1858,  he  became  stated  supply  of  the  Binghamton 
Congregational  church,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  continued  till 
1868.  He  was  an  evangelist  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
during  '6^  and  '64,  doing  good  service  in  that  trying 
time  in  the  history  of  our  country.  Wise  gospel  efforts 
Avere  then  greatly  needed  in  Washington.  From  '64  to 
'66,  he  acted  as  an  evangelist  at  Binghamton,  N.  Y., 
and  from  '67  to  '77  at  Wellsboro,  Pa.,  since  which  time 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  215 

he  has  resided  in  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  and  Dan- 
bury,  Conn.  He  has  been  honorably  retired  for  a 
number  of  years.  Lafayette  College  conferred  upon  him 
the  degree  of  D.  D,  in  i860. 


XIX. 


SCRANTON  CHURCH 


AND 


THE  REV.  JOHN  F.  BAKER. 


AFTER  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Mitchell,  Oct.  1853,  the 
pulpit  of  the  Scranton  church  was  vacant  till  April, 
1854.  During  this  time  the  services  were  maintained  by 
temporary  supplies,  and  twelve  persons  were  received  into 
the  membership  of  the  church,  all  however  by  letter,  and 
all  except  one  from  churches  belonging  to  the  Presbytery 
of  Luzerne.  Dr.  George  B.  Boyd  of  Belvidere,  N.  J., 
was  the  exception. 

The  Rev.  John  F.  Baker,  born  in  Liberty  County, 
Georgia,  was  the  son  of  John  O.  and  Frances  Fabian 
Baker.  His  father  was  a  worthy  elder  in  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  church,  and  brother  of  the  celebrated  minister  and 
evangelist,  Rev.  Daniel  Baker.  John  F.,  with  his  brother, 
"William  E.  Baker,  was  prepared  for  college  in  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Academy,  and  both  graduated  from  Princeton  Col- 
lege and  Theological  Seminary,  and  were  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne.  In  all  these  in- 
■.stitutions,  and  in  their  examinations  before  Presl)ytery, 
they  took  a  high  rank.  Mr.  J.  F.  Baker  was  licensed 
April  2ist,  1852.  He  had  graduated  from  the  college  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  or  less.  He  then  spent  three  years 
in  teaching  and  general  study,  entering  the  Theological 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  21/ 

Seminary  in  the  fall  of  1849.  He  completed  his  course 
in  1852. 

It  is  not  wonderful  that  we  find  him  entering  upon 
his  life  work  with  impaired  health,  which  greatly  lessened 
his  comfort  and  usefulness. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  had  united  with  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  church,  publicly  assuming  the  vows,  which  his  godly 
parents  had  long  before  taken  in  his  behalf,  to  be  the 
Lord's,  and  soon  afterwards  he  gave  himself  to  the  min- 
istry of  reconciliation.  Of  him  a  friend,  the  Rev,  Dr.  S. 
M.  Osmond,  writes:  "I  knew  something  of  John  F. 
Baker  while  I  was  in  Princeton  College.  He  had  then 
graduated  and  was  in  the  Theological  Seminary.  I  was 
intimate  with  his  brother  William,  who  was  my  class- 
mate and  a  very  dear  friend.  During  the  summer 
vacation  both  the  brothers  were  at  their  home  in  VVilkes- 
Barre,  and  there  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  John,  as  well  as 
William.  He  was  less  talkative  and  demonstrative  than 
his  younger  brother,  but  was  intellectual  and  spiritual  be- 
yond what  is  ordinary,  with  a  large  infusion  of  the 
poetical  element  in  his  temperament.  While  he  was  in 
college,  and  afterwards,  poems  of  his  composition  ap- 
peared, from  time  to  time,  in  the  Nassau  Literary 
Magazine,  which  were  of  a  high  order  of  merit.  I  never 
heard  him  preach,  but  have  no  doubt  his  sermons  were, 
like  himself,  refined,  high  toned  and  of  singular  mental 
ability,  but  whether  or  not  he  would  usually  preach  to 
the  level  of  his  hearers,  is  another  question.  None  could 
be  with  him,  even  to  the  limited  extent  that  I  was,  with- 
out a  deep  impression  of  his  purity,  his  separateness  from 
all  the  grosser  forms  of  thought  and  life.  Of  his  min- 
isterial life  I  have  but  scanty  information." 


2l8  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE, 

Immediately  after  Mr.  Baker  was  licensed,  April  21st, 

1852,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  he  entered  a  purely 
missionary  field,  in  Mr.  Webster's  part  of  the  Presbytery. 
He  was  thus  far  favored  in  having  the  aid  of  one  who 
fully  understood  Home  Missionary  work  and  deeply 
sympathized  with  young  missionaries. 

The  centre  of  Mr.  Baker's  field  was  Beaver  Meadow. 
From  this  point  he  worked  eastward,  to  Weatherly  and 
White  Haven,  and  northward,  to  Hazleton.  The  ordy 
organized  churches  in  the  field  at  this  time  were  Beaver 
Meadow  and  White  Haven.  The  membership  of  the  latter 
was  small. 

In  this  field  Mr.  Baker  was  greatly  respected  by  all, 
and  loved  by  such  as  knew  him  intimately,  but  the  habits 
of  his  student  life,  together  with  his  modesty,  made  him 
unobtrusive,  so  that  he  did  not  extend  his  acquaintance 
with  the  people  as  readily  as  many  others.  Nevertheless, 
his  work  was  successful  and  appreciated  by  many. 

The  first  Presbyterian  house  of  worship  erected  at 
Hazleton  was  a  substantial  brick  structure.  This  was 
done    exclusively,  or    nearly  so,  by  Mr.  Ario  Pardee,  in 

1853,  and  was  but  the  beginning  of  his  generous  and 
noble  contributions  to  the  Presbyterian  church.  This  was 
before  the  organization  of  the  church  was  effected,  and 
during  Mr.  Baker's  ministry. 

When  Dr.  Mitchell  resigned  the  pastorate  at  Scran- 
ton,  the  Rev.  John  Fabian  Baker  was  elected  as  his  suc- 
cessor, and  was  ordained  sine  titulo  at  Port  Carbon, 
May  8th,  1854.  Mr.  Baker  entered  on  his  work  at 
Scranton  with  impaired  health,  yet  the  excellence  of  his 
sermons  and  character  secured  the  admiration  of  many. 
The  closer  confinement  in  his  new  field  than  in  his  purely 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE,  219' 

missionary  work,  which  was  widely  scattered  and  made  it 
necessary  that  he  should  spend  much  time  in  the  saddle, 
was  not  so  favorable  to  his  health,  and  it  became  ne- 
cessary, after  a  ministry  of  eighteen  months,  that  he  should 
ask  to  be  released  on  account  of  failing  health. 

After  leaving  Scranton,  Mr.  Baker  went  to  Georgia, 
and  supplied  several  churches  for  a  time  ;  some  of  them 
elected  him  pastor.  From  1858  to  1 861,  he  was  pastor 
of  the  Hebron  church,  Virginia.  In  the  latter  year,  the 
Rev.  Henry  R.  Weed,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian church  of  Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  being  in  feeble  health, 
desired  the  aid  of  a  co-paster,  and  the  Rev.  John  F. 
Baker,  then  of  Augusta  county,  Va.,  accepted  a  call  to 
that  position,  placed  in  his  hands  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Lexington.  It  is  recorded  by  the  session  of  the  Wheeling 
church,  that  he  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  in  a 
satisfactory  manner  from  the  first  of  March,  1861,  until 
the  I  St  of  July  following,  when,  at  a  congregational  meet- 
ing called  at  his  request,  he  tendered  his  resignation,  from 
considerations  connected  with  the  political  state  of  the 
country.  The  resignation  was  accepted  and  a  resolu- 
tion adopted,  expressing  confidence  in  Mr.  Baker  and 
testifying  to  his  honorable  motives  in  the  course  he  had 
pursued.* 

His  longest  period  of  continued  service  seems  to  have 
been  in  supplying  the  church  of  Jerseyville,  Illinois,  from 
1866  to  1871,  with  the  exception  of  a  term  of  years  dur- 
ing which  he  supplied  Hickory  Plain  and  associated 
churches  in  Arkansas.  These,  with  some  other  places  oc- 
cupied for  shorter  periods,  made  up  his  ministerial 
charges.     The  author  of  the  sketch  of  Mr.  B's  life  in  the 

•Historical  Sermon  of  the  Rev.  David  A.  Cunningham,  D.  D.,  1878. 


220  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Necrological  Report  of  the  Princeton  Alumni  Association 
for  1886,  says  of  him  :  "  He  was  one  of  the  most  gifted 
men  in  the  church,  but  ill  health  prevented  him  from 
filling  the  high  positions  for  which  he  was  otherwise 
qualified."  He  died  at  Austin,  Ark.,  of  brain  trouble, 
May  9th,  1885,  at  the  age  of  57.  Mr.  Baker  was  married 
to  Miss  Fannie,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  N.  A.  Piatt,  of  Ros- 
well,  Georgia,  Nov.  29,  1855.  She  died  Jan.  28,  1857. 
He  afterwards  married  Miss  Phebe,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Joseph  Steele,  of  Lexington,  Va. 


XX. 
SCRANTON  CHURCH 

AND 

THE  REV.  MILO  J.  HICKOK,  D.  D. 

THE  Rev.  John  F.  Baker  closed  his  ministry  Jan.  14, 
1855,  and  on  the  29th  of  March  the  Scranton 
congregation  called  the  Rev.  Milo  J.  Hickok,  who  soon 
appeared  upon  the  ground  ;  but  the  definite  settlement  of 
the  question  of  his  acceptance  of  the  call  does  not  seem  at 
once  to  have  been  reached.  For  on  the  14th  of  June  a 
re-election  was  made  and  the  salary  fixed  at  ^800 
annually.  His  installation  took  place  on  the  8th  of  the 
following  August. 

The  following  statement  with  regard  to  Dr.  Hickok' s 
antecedents  has  been  kindly  furnished  by  his  only 
daughter,  Miss  Julia  E.  Hickok,  who  resided  with  her 
mother  in  Marietta,  Ohio,  and  is  usefully  and  honorably 
engaged  as  a  teacher  in  the  High  school  of  that  city. 
She  says:  "My  father  was  born  at  New  Haven,  Vermont, 
August  22,  1809,  the  third  of  eight  children.  His  early 
life  was  spent  upon  a  farm.  He  was  graduated  from 
Middlebury  College  in  1835,  and  from  Union  Theological 
Seminary  in  1840.  Between  the  time  of  leaving  Middle- 
bury  and  entering  the  seminary,  he  taught  at  Delaware 
College,  Newark,  Delaware.  He  was  called  to  the 
Congregational  Church  of  Harman,  New  West  Marietta, 


222  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

Ohio,  as  its  first  pastor,  and  remained  there  from  May  4, 
1842,  until  April  6,  1844.  Then,  accepting  a  call  to 
Rochester,  New  York,  he  became  pastor  of  the  Wash- 
ington Street  (now  Central  Presbyterian)  church  of  that 
city;  a  relation  which  he  sustained  for  nine  years.  His 
marriage  to  Maria  Thomas,  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  occurred 

in  1845." 

He  preached  for  a  time  in  Montreal;  and  was  in 
1855  installed  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of 
Scranton,  Pa.  This  church,  to  which  Dr.  Hickok  had 
come  as  its  third  pastor,  had  been  organized  only  seven 
years;  but  it  had  a  conscious  organic  life,  and  right 
aspirations,  and  he  would  prove  himself,  ere  long,  to  be 
the  right  man  to  be  merged  into  its  organism,  and  to  take 
the  leading  place  in  directing  and  stimulating  its 
functional  and  aggregate  activities. 

He  was  a  man  of  a  vigorous  and  well  cultivated 
mind,  industrious  and  methodical  in  his  work,  which  he 
loved,  fully  comprehending  its  importance  and  the 
legitimate  motives  prompting  regard  for  it.  He  had  a 
warm  heart  and  genial  manner  —  calm,  rather  than 
effusive.  Moreover,  he  came  in  a  favorable  time  and 
under  circumstances  that  conspired  to  call  forth  his  best 
energies  and  the  exercise  of  his  sound  judgment  in  the 
forward  movements  which  he  was  to  lead.  Of  the 
importance  of  these  his  congregation  was  already  fully 
aware,  and  ready  to  render  cordial  co-operation  in  every 
good  "word  and  work." 

An  auspicious  outlook  is  before  the  new  pastor. 
Again  and  again  are  his  already  successful  efforts 
stimulated  by  the  evidence  of  his  people's  efforts  to 
increase  his  comfort  and  efficiency.  This  had  all  been 
embraced  in  the  scope  of  this  church's  purpose. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  22$ 

It  appears,  from  the  excellent  Historical  record  of 
this  church,  published  in  connection  with  the  Anniver- 
sary which  completed  its  twenty-five  years  of  church  life, 
that,  in  the  earlier  years,  after  the  coming  of  Dr. 
Hickok,  as  in  the  years  of  his  predecessors,  the  church 
grew  mostly  by  the  enrollment  of  members  who  came 
with  certificates  from  other  churches,  rather  than  by 
conversions.  But  during  these  years,  and  before  we  learn 
of  the  faithful  work  that  had  been  going  on  in  the  pulpit, 
in  pastoral  visitation,  in  the  Sabbath  Schools,  in  the 
distribution  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  Christian  literature 
profusely  and  generally  scattered,  and  from  the  be- 
ginning of  these  activities,  increased  private  and  public 
prayer  had  not  ceased  to  go  up  in  behalf  of  the  sower, 
the  seed  and  the  soil,  that  there  might  be  divine 
quickening  and  greater  fruitfulness.  Finally,  in  the  year 
1858,  on  the  5th  and  6th  days  of  May,  (Saturday  and 
Sunday)  ninety-five  persons  stood  up  to  confess  Christ  as 
their  Saviour,  and  with  them  forty-one  others  came  by 
certificate  from  sister  churches.  Twenty-seven  received 
the  ordinance  of  baptism.  These  were  days  of  gladness 
in  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Scranton. 

Every  year  afterwards,  during  Dr.  Hickok's  ministry 
showed  an  encouraging  increase  of  membership,  but  it 
was  not  till  1867,  the  last  year  of  his  active  pastorate, 
that  we  find  anything  approximating  the  ingathering  of 
1858.  On  the  19th  of  April,  fifty-seven  were  received 
into  the  communion  of  the  church.  Twenty-seven  others 
united  by  letter  during  the  year,  or  that  part  of  it  covered 
by  Dr.  Hickok's  ministrations,  a  number  of  them  upon 
profession  of  their  faith,  at  the  pastor's  last  public  service 
in    connection   with   the    Communion,    on    the    13th    of 


224  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

October,  1867.  He  had  completed  this  last  doubtless 
delightful  service  in  which  he  and  his  people  commemo- 
rated the  dying  love  of  Jesus,  and,  while  announcing  the 
closing  hymn,  he  was  stricken  with  paralysis.  He  was 
carried  from  the  pulpit,  and  was  never  able  again  to 
perform  the  active  duties  of  his  pastorate.  His  intel- 
lectual faculties  were  not  impaired.  His  daughter  says  of 
him  that  "during  the  last  five  years  of  his  life,  his  general 
health  was  perfect  and  his  mind  seemed  not  at  all 
impaired.  But  his  speech  was  troublesome  and  his  right 
side  wholly  useless.  He  did  not,  until  the  last  year,  give 
up  the  hope  of  again  being  able  to  preach  ;  and  to  that 
end,  wrote  and  studied  constantly  and  with  much 
pleasure.  His  cheerfulness  and  patience  were  wonderful. 
Let  me  quote  from  a  tribute  paid  by  our  pastor.*  'Some- 
times he  has  thought  that  his  life  was  of  no  service, 
though  even  then  he  did  not  repine  at  God's  discipline. 
But  could  he  have  known  how  effectively  he  was 
impressing  many  of  us  by  the  grace  Avith  which  he 
accepted  the  will  of  God,  he  surely  would  not  have 
judged  as  he  did.'  " 

During  the  spring  and  summer  immediately  before 
his  disability  came,  he  had  represented  our  General  As- 
sembly as  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  Free  and  United 
Churches  of  Scotland.  The  delight  which  he  experienced 
in  this  honorable  mission  lingered  with  him,  and  afforded 
no  little  food  for  thought  and  renewed  enjoyment  during 
the  subsequent  months  and  years  of  restrained  public 
activity,  but  he  longed  to  preach  the  gospel  again  and  go 
in  and  out  among  the  people  he  so  dearly  loved,  as  he 
had  done  for  thirteen  years.     The  Hon.  Alfred  Hand, 

*The  pastor  of  the  family  at  Marietta,  Ohio. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  225 

who  knew  Dr.  Hickok  during  a  large  part  of  his  ministry 
in  Scranton,  and  who  had  been  ordained  and  installed 
an  elder  of  the  church  there,  April  17th,  1867,  thus 
speaks  of  his  former  pastor  after  his  death  :*  "Among 
the  sainted  dead  we  are  compelled  to  record  the  name  of 
our  former  beloved  pastor,  Milo  J.  Hickok.  His  me- 
thodical sermons  and  powerful  evening  lectures  will  never 
be  forgotten  by  us.  Some  of  us  feel  that  to  him  we  owe 
under  God's  blessing,  more  than  to  any  other  man.  The 
church  grew  and  was  strengthened  under  his  ministrations. 
His  labors  were  faithful  and  complete  in  every  department 
of  church  work.  He  loved  you  all  with  a  depth  of  love 
which  was  not  always  understood.  Those  who  knew  him 
best  know  this.  It  was  my  privilege  to  be  with  him  in 
the  keen  enjoyment  of  a  portion  of  his  journeying  in 
Europe,  I  saw  him  when  in  pleasure  he  was  recreating 
for  the  work  he  most  loved.  I  know  how  his  heart  longed 
to  labor  with  the  flock  God  had  given  him,  and  at  night, 
often  wearied  with  the  enjoyment  of  the  day,  I  recall  his 
presentiment  of  the  calamity  which  so  soon  came  upon 
him.  I  quote  from  a  message  written  with  his  own  hand 
after  his  affliction  to  one  of  his  flock,  in  clear  but  tremb- 
ling letters,  as  follows  :  '  A  shadow  perchance  has  drifted 
over  both  of  us  since  we  looked  down  the  green  valley  of 
the  Thames,  and  trod  the  smiling  meadows  of  Runnymede, 
but  I  can  testify  that  there  is  a  sadness  of  the  countenance 
by  which  the  heart  is  made  better.  Grace  can  more  than 
make  up  for  all  that  is  taken  away.  The  dear  Lord  has 
developed  within  me  a  peace  and  satisfaction  which  I 
never  knew  in  my  prosperity."  ' 

When  Dr.  Hickok's  resignation  was  accepted,  April, 

*  At  the  Quarter  Century  Memorial  Service. 


226  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

1868,  the  Scranton  congregation  continued  to  support 
him  during  the  remaining  years  of  his  life.  His  salary, 
which  was  at  first  $800  per  annum,  had  been  increased 
from  time  to  time  until  it  had  reached  $2,500.  His  peo- 
ple also  had  provided  for  the  expenses  of  his  visit  to 
Europe.  After  his  disability  and  before  his  resignation, 
the  pulpit  at  Scranton  had  been  acceptably  supplied, 
principally  by  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Cattell,  D.  D.,  late  presi- 
dent of  Lafayette  College,  and  till  recently.  Secretary  of 
the  Disabled  Ministers'  Fund,  and  the  Rev.  W.  W.  At- 
tenbury,  D.  D.  In  Oct.,  1868,  just  a  year  after  Dr. 
Hickok  was  laid  aside,  he  removed,  with  his  family,  to 
Marietta,  Ohio,  where  he  began  his  ministry,  and  where 
was  the  home  of  Mrs.  Hickok.  Although  an  invalid, 
we  have  seen  that  he  was  not  idle  or  useless.  When  the 
call  reached  him  to  come  up  higher,  it  was  without  pre- 
monition. He  died  July  19th,  1873,  leaving  to  earthly 
duties  and  cares  a  beloved  wife,  one  son  and  a  daughter, 
with  whom  we  are  already  acquainted  through  her  loving 
testimony  concerning  her  honored  father.  The  son  is  a 
business  man  at  San  Francisco,  California.  In  these,  as 
in  the  other  children  of  the  faithful  ministers  of  the  Lu- 
zerne Presbytery,  we  see  the  covenant  goodness  and  faith- 
fulness of  the  God  whom  they  served.  The  strong  ties  of 
affection  that  bound  Dr.  Hickok  to  his  people,  made 
Scranton  ultimately  the  place  of  his  burial.  His  remains 
were  removed  thither  about  two  years  after  his  death  by 
the  ladies  of  the  church,  under  the  lead  of  Mrs.  J.  C. 
Piatt,  and  a  monument  was  erected  to  his  memory.  At 
the  request  of  Mrs.  H.  his  excellent  library  was  given  to 
Biddle  University  by  his  successor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Logan. 
During  Dr.  Hickok' s  ministry,  there  had  been  re- 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  22/ 

ceived  into  the  Scranton  church,  445  members,  of  whom 
222  were  by  profession  of  their  faith  in  Christ.  Fifty-two 
of  this  number  he  had  baptised. 


XXI. 
THE  SCRANTON    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH 

AND 

PASTORATE  OF  THE  REV.  S.  C.  LOGAN,  D.  D. 

WHILE  there  was  any  reason  to  hope  for  the  re- 
covery of  Dr.  Hickok  of  course  no  effort  was 
made  to  secure  his  successor,  but,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
church  was  constantly  supplied,  and  its  membership  was 
increased  during  this  period  by  the  reception  of  eighteen 
members. 

When  Dr.  Hickok  resigned,  the  congregation  at  once 
took  measures  to  secure  a  permanent  pastor,  and,  as  is  apt 
to  be  the  case  with  congregations  anxious  to  advance 
their  special  work,  they  were  disposed  to  seek  an  already 
busy  man,  rather  than  such  as  were  only  waiting  in  the 
market  place  to  be  called  into  the  vineyard.  Their  invi- 
tation was  directed  to  a  minister  then  in  charge  of  one 
of  our  church's  most  important  and  difficult  enterprises, 
holding  at  the  time,  the  secretaryship  of  the  Assembly's 
Committee  on  Freedmen,  viz.,  the  Rev.  S.  C.  Logan. 
The  action  of  the  Assembly  in  1867  reveals  the  fact  that, 
while  some  in  our  church  desired  that  tlie  work  for  the 
freedmen  should  be  merged  into  that  of  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions,  the  Assembly  saw  in  clearer  light  the  im- 
portance of  maintaining  its  Committee,  and  while  it  de- 
plored the  want  of  proper  co-operation  on  the  jjart  of  too 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  229 

many  of  our  churches,  it  recognized  encouraging  progress, 
and  commended  the  wisdom  and  fidelity  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Committee.  In  1868  a  similar  testimony  of  the 
Assembly  was  still  more  emphatically  given,  and  measures 
were  taken  to  secure  for  the  work  on  behalf  of  the  Freed- 
men  a  more  ample  interest  and  furtherance  throughout 
the  church. 

.It  was  to  the  Rev.  S.  C.  Logan,  while  secretary  of 
the  Assembly's  Committee,  that  the  Scranton  church 
turned,  with  the  request  that  he  would  fill  her  pulpit, 
August  15th,  1868  ;  making  a  formal  call  for  his  pastoral 
services  on  the  22nd  of  the  same  month.  He  so  far  com- 
plied with  the  overture  of  the  church,  as  to  supply  the 
vacancy,  at  least  with  Sabbath  services,  while  he  still  su- 
perintended our  church's  work  among  the  Freedmen,  and 
he  entered  upon  his  new  duties  on  the  21st  of  the 
following  November.  He  was  not  regularly  installed 
until  September  3d,  1869.  The  church  had  voted  him  a 
salary  of  $2,500  per  year,  with  the  use  of  the  manse. 
This  amount  was  subsequently  raised  to  ^3,000. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Crothers  Logan  was  born  in  Han- 
over, Indiana,  Dec.  21st,  1823,  and  graduated  from  the 
college  located  in  his  native  town,  in  1846.  After  teach- 
ing one  year,  he  entered  Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 
where  he  completed  the  regular  course  in  1850.  He 
spent  the  next  six  months  in  Indiana,  Kentucky  and 
Michigan.  He  began  mission  work  at  Constantine, 
Michigan,  Nov.,  1850.  He  was  ordained  sine  titulo, 
April  14,  1 85 1,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Constantine 
church  in  1853.  He  was  there  till  1857,  when  he  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Fifth  Presbyterian 
church  of  Cincinnati,   Ohio,  continuing  in  that  relation 


230  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

till  1859.  The  subsequent  year,  he  was  stated  supply  of 
the  Seventh  church  in  the  same  city.  In  i860  he  was  in- 
vited to  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  and  was  installed  as  pastor 
of  the  church  there  in  1863,  remaining  in  that  charge  till 
he  became  secretary  of  the  Freedman  Committee  in  1864. 
He  had  also  been  principal  of  the  Valparaiso  Collegiate 
Institute  during  the  years  of  1860-64.  ^^e  have  seen  him 
introduced  to  Scranton  and  inducted  into  the  pastorate 
there  in  1869. 

Dr.  Logan's  successful  work  elsewhere  brought  him 
to  Scranton ;  and  while  we  do  not  follow  him  long  into 
his  pastorate  of  the  Scranton  church,  which  continued  till 
1892,  enough  of  that  time  comes  under  our  review  to 
give  us  a  fair  sample  of  his  individual  work,  and  of  his 
cordial  relations  with  the  important  church  which  he 
served.  He  was  a  worthy  successor  of  the  good  men  who 
had  preceded  him,  possessing  those  elements  of  character 
and  following  those  methods  of  administration  which 
fitted  him  to  carry  forward,  without  friction,  and  with 
perhaps  increased  impetus,  a  church  enterprise  which  had 
been  characterized  by  a  wise  management  and  an 
enlightened  zeal,  seldom  surpassed  even  in  this  last  half 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

We  cannot  better  understand  what  had  been 
accomplished  in  the  church's  advancement  during  the 
existence  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery, — which  is  all  that 
this  History  properly  covers, —  than  by  looking  at  its 
career  from  a  standpoint  in  Dr.  Logan's  ministry  in 
advance  of  his,  and  the  church's,  relations  to  the  old 
Presbytery,  viz.,  the  time  when,  at  the  end  of  twenty-five 
years,  and  in  connection  with  the  Anniversary  fittingly 
celebrated  at  that  time,  the  pastor  and  the  people  bring 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  23 1 

the  past  history  of  their  church  so  vividly  to  view.  The 
memorial  services  of  this  deeply  interesting  occasion  were 
held  on  the  Sabbath  of  Nov.  i6th,  1873. 

A  vivid  outline  of  the  first  twenty-five  years  of  the 
church's  history  was  presented  in  the  sermon  of  Dr. 
Logan,  preached  on  the  Sabbath  morning  of  the  Anniver- 
sary. From  this  is  seen — more  from  its  recital  of  facts 
than  its  direct  statements  —  the  happy  relations  which 
from  the  beginning  existed  between  the  pastors  and  the 
church  session,  as  well  as  between  the  session — composed 
of  the  pastor  and  elders — and  the  whole  church.  The 
choir,  the  Sabbath  School,  the  various  departments  of  the 
church,  and  the  church  itself,  sustained  toward  each  other 
an  association  as  harmonious  as  it  was  mutually  beneficial. 
So  with  the  church  proper  and  the  congregation,  the 
community,  the  great  denomination  with  which  the 
church  stands  connected,  and  all  its  organized  schemes 
and  agencies  for  prosecuting  its  benevolent  work. 
Loyalty  to  our  national  government  was  also  practically 
shown  by  the  church  and  its  Sabbath  School,  especially 
during  the  dark  and  trying  period  of  civil  war,  through 
which  the  country  was  called  to  pass.  To  the  poor  and 
unfortunate  of  the  young  city  in  which  the  church  was 
planted,  not  only  was  the  gospel  preached,  but  such 
substantial  help  for  the  needy  as  its  spirit  prompts  was 
generously  rendered.  The  progress  made  and  the  fruits 
gathered  could  only  be  partially  realized  from  the  facts 
cited. 

The  seventeen  Christian  men  and  women  who,  in 
1848,  had  covenanted  with  the  Lord,  and  with  each 
other,  to  establish  a  Presbyterian  church  in  the  locality 
which  had   become  so  important,  and  to  enter  into  its 


232  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

fellowship  and  co-operate  in  its  work  for  Christ  and 
humanity,  had,  at  the  end  of  twenty-five  years,  become  a 
communion  of  491  members!  Beginning  without  any 
church  property,  they  had  now  a  commodious,  convenient 
and  handsome  house  of  worship,  surmounted  by  an 
excellent  bell,  and  a  fine  organ  to  aid  them  in  the  service 
of  song.  There  was  also  a  lecture  room  suited  to 
Sabbath  School  purposes,  and  a  spacious  residence  for  the 
pastor. 

In  1850  nine  dollars  apiece  were  given  to  the  two 
Boards  of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions.  These  amounts 
have  grown,  at  the  close  of  the  quarter  century,  into  an 
aggregate  of  $11,515  to  Home  missions,  and  $6,041  to 
Foreign  Missions.  There  have  been  contributed,  in  the 
mean  time,  $5,981  to  the  Board  of  Education;  $1,832  to 
Publication;  $5,135  to  Church  Erection;  $7,052  to 
Ministerial  Relief;  $2,153  ^o  Freedmen;  $500  to  Susten- 
tation;  and  to  Bible  and  Tract  Societies,  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  the  Sunday  School  Union, 
and  for  religious  work  among  the  sailors,  $11,612, —  a 
total,  during  these  years,  of  $51,821.  Additional 
contributions,  for  special  causes  at  home  and  abroad, 
more  than  double  the  amount  just  named.  The  Sunday 
School  was  also  liberal  in  meeting  the  urgent  wants  of 
soldiers  and  their  families  during  the  civil  war,  in  the 
early  sixties ;  and,  as  has  been  seen,  after  Dr.  Hickok 
was  laid  aside,  the  church  provided  for  his  support. 

The  Reunion  of  the  Old  and  New  School  branches 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  which  was  warmly  espoused 
by  the  Scranton  church,  as,  indeed,  by  the  whole 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  thank 
offering  of  $31,000.     A  portion  of  this  fund  was  used  for 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE,  233 

placing  a  superior  organ  in  the  church.  Of  $18,000 
given  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Scran  ton,  5^15,000  went  to  the  cause 
of  Missions  and  Christian  education,  the  latter  mostly  to 
Lafayette  College.  The  balance  provided  for  equipping 
a  second  church  in  Scranton,  which  was  soon  called  into 
activity. 

The  chairman  of  the  Memorial  meeting,  held  on  the 
evening  of  the  Anniversary  Sabbath,  was  Mr.  Joseph  A. 
Scranton,  eldest  son  and  fitting  representative  on  this 
occasion,  of  Joseph  H.  Scranton,  who  from  the  first  had 
occupied  so  influential  and  honorable  a  position  in 
connection  with  all  the  activities  and  benefactions  of  the 
church,  and  who  for  twelve  years  was  superintendent  of 
its  Sabbath  Schopl.  Two  years  previous  he  had  rested 
from  his  earthly  labors.  The  chairman's  appropriate 
introduction  to  the  addresses  of  the  evening  made  the 
impressive  scenes  and  events  of  the  church's  past  to  live 
again  in  the  awakened  memories  of  many  of  his  auditors. 

Mr.  Joseph  C.  Piatt,  who  at  the  time  of  the 
organization  of  the  Scranton  church  was  but  three  years 
old;  who  was  the  first  child  enrolled  in  the  Sabbath 
school;  and  who  had  grown  to  surpassing  stature,  in 
more  ways  than  one,  under  the  tutelage  of  the  church  and 
the  Sabbath  School, —  in  a  spirited  and  valuable  address, 
recited  the  origin  and  history  of  the  latter  institution. 
He  graphically  sketched  the  characteristics  and  the  work 
of  some  of  its  officers  and  teachers. 

The  Sabbath  School  started  in  a  little  red  school 
house  at  "  Slocum  Hollow,"  standing  amidst  its  umbra- 
geous surroundings.  It  had  at  first  only  six  scholars. 
Among  its  excellent  and  ample  corps  of  teachers  was  Mr. 
Manners,  the  master  builder  of  the  Scranton  Firm;    and 


234  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

there  were  others,  like  him,  of  the  enterprising  men  who 
were  busy  with  foundation  work  for  what  was  to  be  an 
important  inland  city,  yet  who  found  time  for  still  more 
necessary  Christian  efforts,  to  lay,  in  youthful  minds  and 
hearts,  the  only  true  foundations  of  character,  and  of 
good  for  this  present  world  as  well  as  for  the  world 
to  come. 

The  Sunday  School  began  as  a  union  school,  although 
in  1845,  twelve  of  its  seventeen  teachers  and  officers  were 
Presbyterians.  Largely  out  of  deference  to  esteemed  co- 
workers of  other  denominations,  this  state  of  things  con- 
tinued even  four  years  after  the  organization  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  A  school  was  then  organized  under  the 
direct  control  of  the  church,  but  it  was  held  at  a  different 
hour  from  the  union  school  and  in  a  different  building. 
It  began  with  sixteen  officers  and  teachers  and  thirty-nine 
scholars.  Joseph  H.  Scranton  was  its  first  superintendent. 
In  1854,  two  years  after  its  strictly  Presbyterian  character 
was  assumed,  its  fiist  classes  were  taught  in  the  church 
edifice,  and  from  that  time  there  was  a  marked  accelera- 
tion of  its  growth. 

Early  in  the  progress  of  the  Scranton  Sabbath  school 
work,  systematic  efforts  were  made  by  its  teachers  to 
develop  the  spirit  of  benevolence  and  patriotism  in  their 
pupils.  There  was  careful  training  in  the  service  of  song 
by  the  best  musical  talent  in  the  church.  The  first  infant 
class  was  taught  by  Dr.  W.  A.  Chittenden,  and  it  was  a 
peculiarity  of  the  school  that  the  primary  department 
was  generally  conducted,  not  by  ladies,  but  by  ma- 
ture men. 

Missionary  and  benevolent  societies  were  organized 
among  the  pupils,  by  which,  at  the  time  of  the  memorial 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  235 

celebration,  a  foreign  missionary  was  supported  at  Beirut, 
Syria,  and  a  home  missionary  at  Puget  Sound,  Washing- 
ton. Three  hundred  dollars  were  raised  by  the  school 
for  the  Christian  commission  during  the  civil  war,  through 
the  encouragement  and  co-operation  of  the  superintendent, 
Mr.  Joseph  H.  Scranton. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Piatt  became  superintendent  in  1865,  and 
efficiently  filled  that  office  until  after  the  Presbytery 
ceased  to  exist. 

Mission  schools  grew  out  of  the  church  school,  from 
time  to  time.  In  1851  one  was  started  at  the  Constantine 
mines,  and  another  the  same  year  at  the  Bellevue  mines. 
A  third  was  added  at  Pine  Brook  in  1853. 

The  choir  of  the  Scranton  church  also  received  de- 
served and  honorable  mention  at  the  memorial  service. 
From  the  comprehensive  report  presented  by  Mr.  Edward 
P.  Kingsbury,  for  many  years  its  efficient  leader,  we  learn 
that  from  the  organization  of  the  church,  the  choir  was 
composed  of  the  most  stable  element  of  the  congregation. 
Many  of  its  members  were  among  those  who  sustained  the 
burdens  of  extensive  business  and  other  public  duties,  and 
of  its  number  were  elect  ladies  who  looked  well  to  the 
ways  of  their  households,  and  had  due  part  in  all  impor- 
tant social  duties.  During  the  twenty-five  years  the 
church  had  but  two  regular  choristers  and  only  four 
organists.  This  is  significant  of  its  irenic  spirit  and 
perennial  life,  as  well  as  of  harmonious  relations  between 
the  choir,  and  both  pastor  and  people. 

Judge  Alfred  Hand,  a  member  of  the  session,  was 
one  of  the  speakers  of  the  memorial  evening  meeting,  on 
whose  rich  banquet  of  interesting  and  suggestive  remi- 
niscences we  must  still  for  a  while  linger.      His  address 


236  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

paid  fitting  tribute  to  some  who  had  been  prominently 
identified  with  the  church,  in  whole  or  in  part,  through 
its  past  history — both  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  Special 
mention  was  made  of  Elder  Charles  Fuller.  He  had  been 
honored  by  other  churches,  with  which  we  have  already 
met  him,  and  now  at  the  age  of  seventy-six,  his  hold  on 
the  affection  of  his  brethren  had  been  strengthening  with 
his  years  and  multiplied  services  in  the  session,  in  the 
Sabbath  School,  the  community,  and  the  great  business 
firm  which  he  had  so  long  and  faithfully  served.  At  the 
close  of  the  address,  the  pastor.  Dr.  Logan,  went  down 
into  the  audience,  and  taking  the  venerable  elder  by  the 
hand,  led  him  forward,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  vast 
assembly,  said:  "Let  the  elders  who  rule  well  be  ac- 
counted worthy  of  double  honor. " — I  Tim.,  5:17.  Where- 
upon the  whole  audience  arose  and  saluted  the  venerable 
elder,  who  bowed  in  meekness  and  silent  tears. 

Another  of  the  most  useful  and  benevolent  members 
of  the  Scranton  church,  toward  whom  the  attention  of  the 
memorial  meeting  was  turned,  was  a  man  well  advanced 
in  life,  and  whose  early  associations  and  Christian  nurture 
had  been  among  the  Moravians.  He  came  from  Nazareth, 
Pa.,  but  for  many  years  had  been  a  most  important  factor 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Scranton.  His  life  com- 
mended his  antecedents,  and  his  efficient  and  generous 
co-operation  at  Scranton,  was  a  cordial  endorsement  of 
his  later  affiliations.  This  was  Joseph  H.  Albright,  who 
excelled  in  benevolence,  and  was  even  thought  by  some 
to  have  erred  in  the  extreme  to  which  he  went  in  that 
direction.  But  "there  is  that  scattereth,  and  yet  increas- 
eth,"  if  not  always  in  material  wealth,  yet,  doubtless,  in 
that  which  enriches  and  enlarges  the  souls  of  its  possessors. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  237 

The  noble  women  of  the  church  had  conspicuous 
mention.  They  were  commended  as  those  who  had  been, 
from  first  to  last,  its  most  valuable  and  helpful  members, 
— knowing  best  of  all  how  to  appreciate  the  work  of 
Christ  and  the  true  glory  of  the  Christian  life. 

It  only  remained  to  be  said,  that  there  were  some  ex- 
cellent citizens  of  Scranton  who  had  greatly  aided  the 
First  Presbyterian  church,  yet  were  never  enrolled  in  its 
membership.  Prominent  among  these  was  James  Archi- 
bald Senior,  a  man  of  sterling  principle  and  practice. 
He  was  not,  however,  one  who  trusted  in  his  personal 
morality.  He  recognized  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only 
Saviour.  Judge  Hand  says  of  him:  "His  faith  was 
stronger  in  the  ability  of  Christ  to  save  than  in  his  own 
experience  of  that  faith."  It  had  nevertheless,  undoubt- 
edly controlled  his  life,  and  prompted  many  worthy  and 
generous  deeds,  which  won  for  him  the  gratitude  of  the 
church  and  community.  His  pastor  was  satisfied,  by 
revelations  made  before  his  death,  that  he  was  indeed  an 
humble  Christian. 

Reference  to  the  departed  pastor.  Dr.  Hickok,  deeply 
stirred  the  emotions  of  the  audience,  nor  was  it,  perhaps, 
less  so,  when  mention  was  made  of  George  W.  Scranton, 
an  elder  elect.  Sabbath  School  teacher,  Christian  Con- 
gressman, and  leading  member  of  the  great  business  firm 
of  Scranton,  mourned  by  all,  when  called  away  in  1861, 
leaving  his  place  vacant  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  and  in 
the  prayer  meeting,  as  well  as  in  the  city,  with  the  up- 
building and  character  of  which  he  had  so  much  to  do. 

More  recently,  his  associate  and  coadjutor,  Joseph 
H.  Scranton,  had  followed  him  to  the  better  city  not 
made  with  hands ;    greatly  missed,  but,  through  the  grace 


238  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

and    faithfulness    of  a   covenant    keeping    God,    leaving 
worthy  successors  in  his  own  household.* 

THE    SESSION. 

It  was  not  till  after  the  Luzerne  Presbytery  had 
ceased  to  be,  that  the  General  Assembly  yielded  to  the 
pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  it  to  provide  for  a  change 
in  the  constitution  of  the  church  that  would  allow 
individual  churches  the  privilege  of  electing  ruling  elders 
for  a  term  of  years,  instead  of  for  life,  or  good  behavior; 
therefore  all  the  elders  and  deacons  in  the  churches  of 
the  Luzerne  Presbytery  were  elected  under  the  provision 
of  the  old  constitution  and  were  not  voted  out  of  office. 
We  have  already  found  a  number  who  served  in  different 
churches  through  the  entire  career  of  the  Presbytery. 
The  first  elder  of  the  Scranton  church,  Mr.  Charles 
Fuller,  was  in  office  when  Luzerne  Presbytery  was  merged 
into  Lackawanna;  and  indeed  continued  an  active  elder 
until  1 88 1,  having  been  the  honored  Clerk  of  the  Session 
in   1848. 

Mr.  N.  B.  Hutchinson,  elected  at  the  same  time, 
removed  from  Scranton  in  i860  and  of  course  could  no 
longer  perform  the  duties  of  the  office,  where  for  many 
years  he  had  been  so  useful,  especially  in  the  prayer 
meetings,  which  he  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
W.  Piatt,  and  James  Hutchinson,  brother  of  the  elder, 
started  and  maintained,  long  before  the  organization  of 
the  church.  Mr.  Hutchinson  had  been  ordained  an  elder 
in  Belvidere,  N.  J.,  in  1845. 

♦The  writer  of  this  History  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to 
Mr.  Alexander  W.  Dickson,  clerk  of  the  session  of  the  Scranton  church,  for 
the  unique  history  of  that  church,  covering  the  first  twenty-five  years  of  its 
existence,  including  the  published  memorial  addresses  and  proceedings  at 
the  end  of  that  period. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  239 

It  was  several  years  before  any  one  was  chosen  to 
fill  the  place  in  the  session  to  which  the  Hon.  George 
W.  Scranton  was  elected  at  the  organization  of  the 
church;  but  on  July  10,  1853,  Mr.  James  Harrington, 
who  had  been  received  a  few  months  before  from  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  Providence,  Pa.,  was  added  to  the 
session  by  election,  and  was  installed  by  the  Rev.  J.  D. 
Mitchell,  D.  D.  He  sustained  the  relation  of  ruling 
elder  to  the  Scranton  church  till  1865,  when  he  removed 
to  the  state  of  New  York. 

In  the  mean  time,  Samuel  Sherred  was  ordained  and 
installed  May  31,  1857,  Charles  Mattes,  George  Fuller 
and  E.  A.  Lawrence  at  the  same  time.  R.  M.  Arnold 
was  installed  November  25,  i860.  These  brethren  were 
all  inducted  into  the  office  by  Dr.  Hickok.  Afterwards, 
Judge  Alfred  Hand  was  ordained  and  installed,  also 
Robert  Blake  and  Edward  Judson.  U.  M.  Stowers  was 
installed  April  17,  1867,  and  inducted  by  Dr.  Hickok. 
At  the  termination  of  his  ministry  there  were  in  the 
session  six  active  elders ;  the  others  had  been  honorably 
dismissed  to  churches  in  other  communities. 

Other  removals  occurred,  some  after  the  transfer  of 
the  Presbytery,  and  we  learn  that  the  session  was  in  1871 
strengthened  by  the  election,  ordination  and  installation 
of  C.  H.  Doud,  William  H.  Piatt,  who  had  been  twice 
elected  before,  and  Alexander  W.  Dickson.  Thus  we 
find  the  First  church  of  Scranton  entering  the  new 
Presbytery  well  equipped  for  aggressive  work. 

Before  taking  leave  of  this  favored  church,  we 
mention,  as  indicative  of  the  spirit  it  had  imbibed  during 
its  connection  with  its  foster  mother,  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne,  another  characteristic  transaction  which  deserves 
commemoration : 


240  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

When  rejoicing  over  the  manifold  blessings  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  had  afforded  them  through  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  a  thoughtful  member  of  the  body  suggested 
the  propriety  and  feasibility  of  raising  and  investing,  at 
that  favorable  opportunity,  a  permanent  fund  of  ten 
thousand  dollars,  the  earnings  of  which  should,  for  all 
coming  time,  be  devoted  to  aiding  the  poor.  Eight 
hundred  dollars  more  than  the  proposed  sum  were 
promptly  pledged. 

The  originator  of  this  worthy  scheme  was  Thomas 
Dickson,  whom  we  have  already  met  in  company  with 
other  generous  companions.  He  was  subsequently 
associated  with  the  overflow  of  the  mother  church  in 
Scranton  in  giving  autonomy  to  the  Second  church  for 
which  the  First  had  been  so  generously  ])roviding,  and 
which  has  had  a  like  prosperous  career  with  that  of  the 
parent  organization  from  which  it  sprung. 


XXII. 

GERMAN     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCHES    IN 
SCRANTON  AND  THEIR  PASTORS. 


THESE,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  could  not  be  the 
natural  children  of  the  First  church;  but  they  are  its 
foster  children,  and  as  such  have  been  cherished  by  the 
foster  mother  and  her  natural  children.  They  have  been 
the  objects  of  deep  and  tender  solicitude  as  to  their 
spiritual  health  and  growth. 

But  owing  to  the  fact  that  their  services  were 
conducted  in  a  language  with  which  but  few  of  the 
Presbyterians  of  the  First  church  were  acquainted,  there 
could  not  be  the  close  intercourse,  in  worship  and 
opportunities  for  social  influence,  necessary  to  rapid 
affiliation  and  co-operation.  Yet  these  churches  have 
grown,  and  seem  to  have  been  loyal  to  the  Presbytery, 
which  is  the  more  to  be  commended  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  earlier  membership  had  been  trained  in  somewhat 
different  usages  from  those  which  prevail  among  us. 
Their  ministers,  although  well  educated  men,  had  been 
instructed  in,  and  accustomed  to,  modes  of  administration 
and  habits  of  thought  in  many  respects  dissimilar  to  ours. 
These  German  churches  have  done  a  good  work  for  our 
denomination,  and  prepared  the  way  for  a  much  greater 
future  work  in  which  they  and  we  alike  will  find  lasting 
benefits,  both  in  church  and  state. 


242  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE, 

The  first  of  these  German  churches  was  constituted 
January  28,  1856,*  and  formally  taken  under  the  care  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  on  the  25  th  of  the  following 
June.     It  consisted  of  60  members. 

The  first  minister  was  the  Rev.  Herman  Veith,  who 
was  probably  received  from  some  German  church.  He 
was  with  the  church  from  its  organization,  Jan.,  1856,  till 
March,  1858.  He  seems  to  have  been  dismissed  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Hudson  and  to  have  taken  charge  of  the 
Jeffersonville  German  church.  At  the  termination  of 
Mr.  Veith' s  ministry  the  church  reports  156  members. 

The  next  minister  was  the  Rev.  Thomas  Gradman, 
whose  name  does  not  appear  in  the  minutes  of  the 
General  Assembly  at  the  time.  He  was  in  Scranton 
about  a  year. 

March  i,  1859,  the  Rev.  Charles  David  Rosenthal, 
from  the  Presbytery  of  Passaic,  and  pastor  of  the  German 
church  of  Patterson,  N.  J.,  entered  upon  the  charge  of 
the  German  church  of  Scranton,  and  was  its  regular 
pastor  till  October,  1864.  Mr.  Rosenthal  was  regular  in 
his  attendance  at  all  the  meetings  of  Presbytery  and 
seemed  cordially  to  adopt  our  system  of  doctrine  and 
polity.  When  he  left  his  charge  in  Scranton,  the  number 
of  members  reported  was  249,  with  210  in  the  Sabbath 
School. 

In  the  fall  of  1864,  soon  after  Mr.  Rosenthal  ceased 
to  be  the  pastor  of  the  German  church,  the  Rev.  William 
C.  Wunderlich  became  pastor.  Mr.  Rosenthal  remained 
on  the  roll  of  Presbytery  for  several  years,  and  was 
reported  as  stated  supply  at  White's  Corners,  N.  Y. 
Subsequently    he    became    pastor    of    the    Clarkestown 

*Perhaps  by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  243 

German  church  in  the  Presbytery  of  New  York.  This 
pastorate  he  retained  till  he  was  relieved  by  his  death, 
which  took  place  at  Naunt,  N.  Y.,  May  4,  1874.  The 
Clarkstown  church  was  at  that  time  under  the  care 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Hudson.  This  church  was  a  small 
one,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  loyal  to  the  Boards  of  our 
church  under  Mr.  Rosenthal's  ministry. 

The  Rev.  Wm.  C.  Wunderlich,  who  became  pastor 
of  the  Scranton  German  church,  does  not  appear  on  our 
roll  before  that  time. 

The  reports  from  his  church  were  at  first  meagre, 
but  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  they  became  quite 
encouraging,  and  at  the  time  the  Presbytery  was  merged 
in  other  Presbyteries  the  church  reported  a  membership 
of  594,  and  a  Sabbath  School  of  260  members,  with 
contributions  to  nearly  all  our  Boards.  They  raised  for 
congregational  purposes,  for  the  year  ending  April, 
1870,  ^2,535,  and  received  into  the  church  that  year, 
53  on  profession,  and  35  by  certificate,  a  total  of  86. 

The  congregation  had  erected  a  house  of  worship  on 
Hickory  street,  between  Cedar  and  Pittston  streets,  at  a 
cost  of  ^3500.  The  building  was  formally  dedicated 
Nov.  6,  1859.  Previous  to  this,  the  church,  had  occupied 
the  Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  the  former  meeting  place  of 
the  First  church. 

Mr.  Wunderlich  in  1885  dedicated  a  new  house  of 
worship  at  far  greater  cost  than  that  of  the  old  building, 
and  placed  a  chime  of  bells  on  it.  He  retained  his 
position  as  pastor  till  1888.  Having  made  a  visit  to  his 
native  land  and  returned,  he  still  resides  in  Scranton. 

The  Petersburg  German  Presbyterian  church,  so 
named  from  the  part  of  the  '  *  larger  Scranton  ' '  in  which 


244  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

it  was  located,  was  organized  January,  1858.  Its  original 
members  were :  George  N,  and  Peter  Engel,  Conrad 
Otto,  John  M.  Thrier,  John  Feries,  Jacob  Saun,  Charles 
Smidt,  Fred  Teufel,  John  Braumann,  Henry  Wengel, 
Henry  Schulz,  Joseph  Faber,  William  Vetgel  and  Franz 
Zigler.  The  women's  names  are  not  given,  but  we  can- 
not conceive  of  a  Christian  church  within  the  limits  of 
civilization  without  women.  The  Pennsylvania  Coal 
Company  gave  this  new  enterprise  a  lot  for  the  erection 
of  a  house  of  worship,  which  was  completed  at  a  cost  of 
1^2,500,  and  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God,  July  25, 
1869.  One  month  before  this  congregation  had  been 
formally  taken  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lu- 
zerne it  had  a  membership  of  55.  Thus  it  is  seen  that 
there  was  a  place  for  the  women  and  children.  More- 
over, we  learn  that  it  had  a  flourishing  Sabbath  School  of 
75  pupils,  with  Mr.  Conrad  Otto  as  its  superintendent. 

It  was  from  the  first  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the 
ministers  of  the  First  German  church,  viz :  the  Revs. 
Messrs.  Gradman,  Rosenthal,  and  Wunderlich,  who  di- 
vided their  services  with  the  newer  organization.  The 
Petersburg  church  was  located  on  Centre  street.  Previous 
to  the  erection  of  the  church  building,  it  availed  itself  of 
the  use  of  the  school  house  in  that  part  of  the  city.  As 
there  is  no  separate  report  of  this  church  in  the  minutes 
of  the  General  Assembly  during  the  existence  of  the  Lu- 
zerne Presbytery,  its  membership  and  other  things  must 
have  been  included  in  the  report  of  the  First  German 
church. 

Another  German  church  was  organized  in  Archbald 
in  the  early  part  of  1862,  and  reported  (indefinitely), 
with    the     Rev.    Bernhard   Sickel    as    its    pastor.     This 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  245 

enterprise,  no  doubt,  was  due  to  influences  emanating 
from  Scranton.  In  1864  a  more  definite  report  is  sent  to 
Presbytery,  which  gives  the  membership  of  the  church  as 
72,  and  shows  the  existence  of  a  small  Sabbath  School, 
with  $6t5  raised  toward  self-support  and  miscellaneous 
matters ;  also  small  contributions  raised  for  four  of  our 
boards.  During  this  year  the  pastoral  relation  between 
Mr.  Sickel  and  the  Archbald  church  was  dissolved  and 
the  congregation  lost  its  house  of  worship  by  fire.  In 
1865  the  church  is  reported  vacant.  In  1866  the  Rev.  J. 
E.  Lang  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the  Arch- 
bald  church,  and  continued  in  that  relation  till  1874. 
This  church  did  not  grow  much  at  first.  Like  all  mining 
congregations  it  was  constantly  liable  to  changes.  More- 
over, during  its  history,  it  not  only  lost  its  house  of 
worship,  but  its  first  pastor,  Mr.  Sickel,  fell  under  the 
censure  of  his  Presbytery,  which  was  obliged  to  divest 
him  of  his  ministerial  office  in  1869.  The  people,  with 
the  aid  of  Christian  friends  outside,  rebuilt  their  house  of 
worship,  securing  a  much  more  substantial  and  beau- 
tiful one. 

In  1870,  when  it  was  taken  charge  of  by  the  new 
Presbytery,  it  reported  147  members.  The  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne  had  not  many  German  churches,  for  while  it 
would  have  regarded  it  cruel  to  withhold  the  gospel  from 
those  incapable  of  receiving  it  in  any  other  than  their 
native  tongue,  it  was  deemed  best  to  secure,  at  the 
earliest  possible  time,  unity  of  language,  thought  and 
worship,  in  order  to  the  highest  temporal  and  spiritual 
advantages  of  all  interested  parties. 


XXIII. 

BEAVER    MEADOW    AND    WHITE    HAVEN 
CHURCHES. 

THE  Rev.  David  Harbison,  who  was  born,  reared  and 
educated  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  came  into  the 
bounds  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery  in  the  early  part  of 
1848,  bearing  testimonials  of  licensure  for  the  ministry 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  his  native  land.  His  uncle, 
Thomas  Harrison,  Esq.,  a  prominent  and  influential 
citizen  residing  near  White  Haven,  on  the  Lehigh,  al- 
though not  at  that  time  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  yet  introduced  his  nephew  to  the  congregation  at 
White  Haven,  with  which  he  worshiped,  and  which  was 
then  vacant.  It  was  part  of  the  Beaver  Meadow  field. 
The  young  man  was  an  acceptable  preacher,  of  pre- 
po-ssessing  manners  and  good  reputation,  and  was  there- 
fore at  once  taken  hold  of  by  the  Presbytery  and  the 
then  vacant  mission  field.  He  was  instructed  to  give  half 
his  time  to  White  Haven,  where  as  yet  no  church  had 
been  organized.  But,  as  we  have  seen  in  an  earlier  part 
of  this  history,  the  Rev.  Darwin  Cook  had  done  mission- 
ary work  in  connection  with  Conyngham  Valley  soon 
after  the  organization  of  the  Presbytery  in  1S43,  giving 
the  place  one  Sabbath  a  month.  Subsequently,  the  Rev. 
James  G.  Moore  was  directed,  in  1845,  to  give  this  field 
the  same  proportion  of  time,  which  he  continued  to  do 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  24/ 

till  1848,  or  until  a  short  time  before  the  coming  of  Mr. 
Harbison,  who  took  up  Mr.  Moore's  work  in  his  whole 
field,  but  gave  a  larger  part  of  his  time  to  White  Haven. 
Already  the  business  at  Beaver  Meadow  was  beginning  to 
decline,  and  changes  were  taking  place  which  were  carry- 
ing away  the  membership  of  the  church  there,  and  so 
weakening  it.  Notwithstanding,  Mr.  Harbison's  ministry 
was  understood  to  be  very  acceptable  to  that  people. 

Though  there  were  but  few  Presbyterians  in  White 
Haven,  a  proposal  to  erect  a  house  of  worship  was  favor- 
ably entertained.  I  will  here  quote  from  a  historical  state- 
ment furnished  by  the  present  popular  pastor  of  the 
White  Haven  church:*  "A  subscription  was  made  which 
warranted  the  commencement  of  the  building  in  the 
summer  of  1849.  The  corner  stone  was  laid  by  the  Rev. 
Richard  Webster.  In  the  winter  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  was  administered  by  the  Rev.  John 
Dorrance,  and  the  Presbytery  appointed  a  committee  to 
organize  a  church."  Work  being  demanded  at  Hazleton, 
nearer  Beaver  Meadow,  Mr.  Harbison  seems  to  have  been 
relieved  of  the  care  of  White  Haven  early  in  1850;  and 
on  the  2ist  day  of  May  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Harbison 
was  inducted  formally  into  the  pastorate  of  the  Beaver 
Meadow  church,  having  been  solemnly  ordained  to  the 
full  work  of  the  ministry. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Gayley  was 
appointed  stated  supply  of  White  Haven  and  the  regions 
round  about.  Mr.  Harbison  was  the  only  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Presbytery  able  to  attend  at  the  time 
appointed  for  the  organization  of  the  White  Haven 
church,  Dec.  6,   1850,  and   he   had    the   satisfaction  of 

♦Rev.  Ebenezer  Flack. 


248  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

enrolling  and  organizing  twenty-three  members  into  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  White  Haven.  Of  these, 
the  present  pastor  informs  us,  three  are  still  alive  and 
honored  members,  viz.,  Mrs.  A.  F.  Peters,  Mrs.  E.  P. 
Morris  and  Mrs.  Bradley  Childs.  Mr.  Harbison  ordained 
and  installed  Mr.  William  Davis  ruling  elder. 

The  missionary  work  at  White  Haven  had  passed 
into  good  hands  when  Mr.  Gayley  took  hold  of  it.  He, 
like  Mr.  Harbison,  was  born  in  Ireland,  his  birth 
occurring  at  Castleberg,  Dec.  11,  1822.  But,  coming  to 
this  country  early  in  life,  he  was  educated  here ;  first  in 
his  uncle's  excellent  classical  school  near  Wilmington, 
Delaware,  afterward  in  Lafayette  College  and  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  graduating  from  the  latter  institu- 
tion in  1850.  He  only  remained  a  short  time  at  White 
Haven,  as  in  185 1  he  received  and  accepted  a  call  to 
Lockhaven,  Pa.  He  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Northumberland  May  28th  of  the  same  year.  He 
continued  pastor  of  the  Lockhaven  church  till  1862, 
when  he  became  pastor  of  the  Lower  West  Nottingham 
church  in  Maryland,  a  church  of  which  Gilbert  Tenent 
had  been  pastor,  and,  in  later  years,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
George  Burrowes  and  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Hodge,  D.  D. 
Here  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Gayley  continued  an  honorable, 
useful  and  every  way  fortunate  career  till  1893.  On  his 
voluntary  retirement  from  the  church,  he  was  made  its 
pastor  emeritus,  and  resides  in  Wayne,  Pa. 

During  Dr.  Gayley' s  term  of  service  at  White 
Haven,  the  Sabbath  School  was  organized,  and  has,  from 
the  beginning  to  the  present  time,  been  well  managed, 
and  a  source  of  great  good  to  the  church  and  the 
community. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  249 

In  the  summer  of  1851,  Mr.  James  Scott,  just  from 
Princeton  Seminary,  served  the  same  field  that  had  been 
vacated  by  Mr.  Gayley.  He  also  was  from  the  North  of 
Ireland,  Armagh  county,  but  was  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Glasgow,  Scotland.  He  was  subsequently 
ordained  by  the  Second  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  and 
became  pastor  of  the  church  at  Homesburg,  Pa.,  June 
6th,  1854.  He  continued  there  until  1861,  when  he  was 
released  from  that  charge  in  order  to  his  acceptance  of  a 
call  to  White  Haven.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  culture  and 
of  excellent  Christian  spirit. 

In  the  summer  of  185 1,  the  house  of  worship  which 
had  been  projected  before  the  organization  of  the  church 
was  formally  dedicated.  The  service  was  conducted  by 
the  Rev.  Richard  Webster,  who  from  time  to  time,  as  in 
this  instance,  rejoiced  to  see  the  little  churches,  for  which 
he  had  travailed  in  birth,  comfortably  sheltered  and 
without  any  lingering  encumbrance  of  debt.  This 
building  was  beautifully  situated  for  scenical  effects,  but, 
unfortunately,  was  too  far  from  the  centre  of  population. 

The  next  minister  was  the  Rev.  John  F.  Baker, 
whose  work  has  been  already  noticed.  When  Mr.  Baker 
was  called  to  the  Scranton  church  in  the  spring  of  1854, 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Wray  Porter,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presby- 
tery, was  appointed  stated  supply,  with  a  field  somewhat 
modified;  for,  instead  of  Beaver  Meadow  and  Hazleton, 
Weatherly,  Clifton  and  Filmore  were  associated  with 
White  Haven. 

Mr.  Porter  was  born  in  Colerain,  Ireland,  but  was 
educated  in  this  country.  He  was,  in  fact,  one  of  Mr. 
Webster's  boys.  He  graduated  from  Lafayette  College, 
and  was  a  student  from  Princeton  Seminary. 


250  PKESBYTEKV  OF  LUZERNE. 

White  Haven  was  his  radiating  point.  Mr.  Baker 
had  resided  in  Beaver  Meadow.  Mr.  Porter's  other 
preaching  jjlaces  were  unorganized,  and  the  organization 
at  the  centre  was  by  no  means  strong.  The  elder  whom 
Mr.  Harbison  had  ordained  had  removed  from  the  place; 
therefore  the  young  minister  had  little  trained  assistance, 
except  from  the  Sabbath  School  workers.  Nevertheless 
all  who  knew  of  Mr.  Porter's  work  recognized  his 
earnestness,  zeal  and  fidelity. 

Under  his  ministry  at  the  new  coal  town  of  Filmore, 
the  way  was  prepared  for  the  more  perfect  establishment 
of  a  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Porter  was  appointed  by 
Presbytery,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  John  Leisenring,  a 
leading  member  of  the  Council  Ridge  Coal  Company,  to 
preach  at  Filmore,  and,  at  the  petition  of  the  people  of 
that  place,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Presbytery, 
Sept.,  1856,  to  organize  a  church  there,  but,  owing  to 
some  hindrance,  the  committee,  which  consisted  of  the 
Rev.  T.  P.  Hunt,  Rev.  John  Armstrong,  Rev.  John 
Johnson  and  G.  W.  Smith,  did  not  perform  its  duty 
till  near  the  close  of  the  year,  and  did  not  secure 
the  election  of  elders.  The  following  persons  were 
enrolled,  viz.,  John  Leisenring,  Mrs.  John  Leisenring, 
Mrs.  Sallie  P.  Sharpe,  Hugh  Hyndman,  Mrs.  Hugh 
Hyndman,  Mrs.  Rebecca  and  Isabella  Bayn,  John 
Cuningham  and  Mrs.  Cuningham,  James  Black,  Thomas 
Ellis,  Samuel  Wiesley,  Robert  McCounahan,  Miss  Martha 
McClelland  and  Miss  Mary  McClelland.  In  this  general 
field,  Mr.  Porter  did  a  laborious  and  useful  work.  After 
leaving  White  Haven,  August,  1857,  he  was  ordained  by 
the  Second  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  March  19,  i860, 
and  installed  pastor  over  the  churches  of  Charleston  and 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  25  I 

Pheonixville,  having  previously  supplied  them  for  a 
time.  This  charge  he  retained,  with  a  good  record, 
till  1S76.  He  then  became  pastor  of  the  Fifth  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  with  which  he  spent  two 
years.  From  1881-83,  he  served  the  Stanhope  church, 
in  the  same  state.  His  last  charge  was  the  Woodside 
church  of  Newark,  N.  J.  He  died  at  Newark,  July  16, 
1890.  Mr.  Porter  married  Miss  Rebecca  Stern,  of 
Easton,  Pa.  She  survived  him,  with  one  son  and  one 
daughter. 

The  Rev.  David  Harbison,  after  relinquishing  the 
White  Haven  portion  of  his  original  field,  continued  to 
serve  the  Beaver  Meadow  church,  Hazleton  and  other 
adjacent  points.  No  church,  up  to  this  time,  nor  until 
several  years  later,  was  organized  at  Hazleton,  although  it 
had  received  attention  from  Mr.  Webster  himself. 
Messrs.  Gaston  and  Moore  had  maintained  regular 
services  there,  once  in  two  weeks.  The  business  of  the 
place  was  increasing  rapidly,  especially  under  the  vigorous 
and  wise  management  of  Ario  Pardee  and  Company. 
Hazleton  had,  therefore,  become  the  more  important  part 
of  Mr.  Harbison's  field  of  operations.  The  services  were 
conducted  in  the  public  school  house. 

Mr.  Harbison  continued  to  occupy  his  general  field, 
acceptably  to  the  several  communities,  till  the  spring  of 
1852,  when  he  became  pastor  of  the  United  churches  of 
Donegal  and  Ligonier  in  the  Presbytery  of  Blairsville; 
then  Ebensburg  and  New  Salem,  of  the  same  Presbytery, 
in  the  order  named.  In  the  year  1875,  he  returned  to 
Lehigh  Presbytery,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Bridge 
street  church  of  Catasauqua,  which  position  he  still 
occupies.  Mr.  Harbison  married  during  the  earlier  part 
of  his  residence  in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania. 


XXIV. 

NEWTON,    WHITE    HAVEN    AND    ECKLEY. 
THE  REV.  JONATHAN  OSMOND. 

ABOUT  the  time  the  Rev.  David  Harbison  landed  in 
this  coimtr}',  an  invitation  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Luzerne,  written  by  the  Rev.  Richard  Webster,  reached 
Jonathan  Osmond  to  visit  Beaver  Meadow  and  spend  two 
Sabbaths  in  the  church  there.  Mr.  Osmond  was  then  in 
the  middle  of  his  senior  year  in  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary.  He  had  not,  at  that  time,  applied  to  his 
Presbytery  for  license,  therefore  he  felt  that  he  could  not, 
without  great  loss,  be  absent  so  long  from  his  classes,  nor 
did  he  like  to  go  into  the  field  till  he  was  duly  licensed. 
However,  he  consulted  with  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander, 
who  thought  his  objections  well  founded.  Therefore,  he 
respectfully  declined  Mr.  Webster's  invitation,  and,  as 
we  have  seen,  Mr.  Harbison  was  introduced  into  the 
Beaver  Meadow  field  and  Mr.  Osmond  was  informed  that 
the  Presbytery  would  offer  him  another  missionary  field 
when  he  was  ready  to  enter  upon  it.  After  graduation  in 
the  spring  of  1848,  and  having  been  regularly  licensed  by 
the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle,  Mr.  Osmond  left  his  home 
near  Oxford,  Pa.,  on  horseback,  to  visit  the  field  desig- 
nated by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne.  It  proved  to  be  that 
part  of  Mr.  Parke's  field  situated  north  of  Pittston,  and 
originally  embraced  what  is  now  included  in  the  townships 
of    Newton,    North    and    South    Abington,    Ransom    in 


PRESBVTERV    OF    LUZERNE.  253 

Lackawanna  county,  and  Falls  in  Wyoming.  This  ground 
was  actually  occupied,  with  nothing  to  hinder  the  oc- 
cupancy of  Scott,  Benton  and  Greenfield  in  Lackawanna 
county.  On  this  territory,  the  only  organized  church  was 
Fallstown,  which  was  afterwards  changed  by  the  Presby- 
tery to  Newton,  because  of  the  changes  in  township  lines 
which  ultimately  located  the  home  of  the  church  in  the 
centre  of  Newton  township. 

This  was  a  country  church  embracing  many  families 
in  the  prime  of  life.  A  short  time  before,  a  young 
minister  by  the  name  of  Stevens  had  been  sent  into  this 
congregation,  but  was  seen  soon  after  making  his  way 
from  the  community.  A  member  of  the  Presbytery 
wanted  to  know  why  he  had  abandoned  the  field,  and  was 
answered,  "Oh,  there  are  so  many  children."  It  was 
still  true  when  Mr.  O.  reached  the  Newton  congregation, 
that  there  were  many  children,  but  this,  to  his  mind,  only 
gave  the  more  promise  of  a  lively  condition  of  things, 
and  while  it  would  call  for  no  little  effort  on  their  behalf, 
he  could  not  regard  this,  and  similar  providential  indica- 
tions pointing  to  the  necessity  for  much  work,  as  furnish- 
ing ground  of  excuse  for  turning  away  from  a  specially 
difficult  field,  though  at  first  he  was  tempted  to  do  so. 
While  the  church  had  long  been  organized,  it  had  no 
completed  house  of  worship,  no  Sabbath  School,  and  had 
had  only  partial  and  somewhat  irregular  services.  Dr. 
Parke  had,  for  the  past  four  years,  supplied  this  part  of  his 
extensive  parish  as  frequently  as  possible,  but  he  could  not 
be  very  often  in  the  remoter  parts  of  his  field,  or  continue 
long  when  he  visited  them.  However,  the  people  at 
Newton  had  become  acquainted  with  and  greatly  attached 
to  the  Mountain  Missionary,  and  were  not    particularly 


254  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

anxious  for  a  change.  They,  however,  treated  the  young 
minister  kindly,  for  they  were  a  good,  honest  people,  and 
really  desired  the  upbuilding  of  the  spiritual  house.  Their 
hands  had  been  set  to  work  in  building  a  house  of  worship. 

One  of  the  first  members  of  the  church  with  which 
the  new  minister  became  acquainted  was,  at  the  time  of 
introduction,  on  the  top  of  the  rising  structure  destined 
to  be  the  much  needed  sanctuary  which  Mr.  Parke  had 
stirred  up  the  people  to  begin  to  build.  Peter  Dershimer, 
the  builder,  was  soon  inducted  into  the  eldership,  which, 
from  the  organization  of  the  church,  had  consisted  of 
Peter  Corselius  and  Peter  Richards.  Thus  its  first  en- 
largement by  the  addition  of  a  third  Peter,  making  it 
eminently  Petrine,  brought  in  a  new  element,  the  Ger- 
man, added  to  the  Holland  or  Jersey  of  the  other  two. 
They  were  all  different,  and  all  good  men.  Their  children 
became  significant  factors  in  church  work,  and  still  are. 

Before  the  completion  of  the  Presbyterian  house  of 
worship  on  the  beautiful  site  selected  for  it,  facing  the 
conspicuous  mountain  on  the  east,  our  Methodist  brethren 
had  begun  a  church  edifice,  just  beside  the  old  red  school 
house  which  had  long  served  for  all  sorts  of  public 
gatherings.  In  1848  worship  was  held  by  all  denomina- 
tions in  this  new,  but  unfinished  structure. 

The  attendance  was  good  as  to  numbers,  but  in 
meeting  with  a  people  who  for  nearly  a  score  of  years  had 
only  worshiped  in  school  houses  or  other  secular  build- 
ings, the  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  young  minister 
in  the  delivery  of  his  first  sermon  from  the  text  "  For  to 
me  to  live  is  Christ,"  was  not  inspiring.  There  was 
something  wanting.  There  seemed  to  be  no  such  spiritual 
atmosphere  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  in  the  church 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  255 

of  his  childhood,  where  all  the  families  were  gathered  in 
their  respective  pews,  and  waited  reverently  the  words  of 
the  pastor,  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Dickey,  D.  D.,  and  after- 
wards the  eloquent  utterances  of  his  son,  the  Rev.  John 
M.  Dickey,  D.  D.,  the  founder  of  Lincoln  University,  or 
the  mild  but  touching  words  of  the  Rev.  Robert  P.  Du- 
bois, while  a  student  and  teacher  for  a  long  time  in  the 
Academy  at  New  London,* — all  this,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  atmosphere  of  Princeton's  worshiping  assemblies, 
suggested  to  the  young  preacher  on  "Brushy  Ridge  "  a 
startling  contrast. 

New  adjustments  must  be  made,  the  conditions  and 
wants  of  pioneer  communities,  especially  of  the  younger 
members  of  such  communities,  must  be  considered,  and 
the  fact  faced  that  these  conditions  are  to  them  normal, 
while  to  the  older  people,  it  might  be,  that  only  after 
gradual,  and,  at  the  first,  reluctant  yielding  of  what  had 
once  been  preferred,  they  had  fallen  into  the  free  and  easy 
habits  of  pioneer  life.  A  new  element  in  such  society 
cannot  revolutionize  it  at  once,  and  whenever  attempting 
to  do  so  destroys  its  ability  to  revolutionize  it  at  all. 
Here,  as  in  all  moral  uplifting,  the  new  element  must 
lead,  not  drive.  This  is  a  lesson  that  must  be  learned  by 
would-be  reformers  before  progress  in  the  right  direction 
is  ordinarily  secured. 

The  community  for  which  the  Newton  church  was 
designed  had,  for  many  years  after  their  first  settlements, 
a  laborious  struggle  in  subduing  the  wilderness  and 
providing  themselves  with  homes.  From  necessity  their 
first  buildings  were  small  and  inconvenient.       During  the 

*A  lineal  successor  of  the  school  taught  by  the  celebrated  Dr.  Francis 
Allison,  among  the  first  really  Presbyterian  schools  in  this  country  under 
strictly  ecclesiastical  control— that  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  1774. 
See  Dr.  Charles  Hodge's  history  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  p  262. 


256  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

time  Mr.  Parke  looked  after  their  spiritual  wants,  a  new 
and  better  market  opened  up  for  the  productions  of  their 
farms.  This  had  stimulated  greater  industry  and  thrift, 
in  which  they  had  been  led  and  encouraged  by  the 
greater  enterprise  and  sobriety  of  some  more  recent 
settlers.  In  consequence  of  this  state  of  things,  very 
many  of  the  farmers  had  become  able  to  build  themselves 
larger  and  better  homes.  But  before  they  could,  to  any 
considerable  extent,  refurnish  their  homes,  the  call  was 
made  for  building  houses  of  worship.  They  regarded 
this  call,  and  occupied  their  new  homes  without  ad- 
ditional furniture. 

In  the  summer  of  1848,  the  neat  new  Presbyterian 
church  was  dedicated  to  God,  free  from  debt.  It  was  a 
glad  day  to  both  people  and  minister.  Appropriate  and 
impressive  services  were  conducted  by  members  of  the 
Presbytery. 

A  Sabbath  School  was  at  once  organized.  The  new 
minister  had  his  Bible  class.  The  school  was  from  the 
beginning  well  attended  and  useful.  The  church  was 
greatly  aided  in  their  building  enterprise  by  Mr.  George 
Cory,  who  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath 
School.  Although  not  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  he  was  regarded  as  a  brother  beloved.  While  he 
did  business  in  the  community,  he  continued  his  friendly 
assistance. 

An  important  part  of  the  field  to  which  Mr.  Osmond 
was  assigned  by  the  Presbytery  was  Abington,  seven 
miles  north-east  of  Newton,  a  village  settled  by  intelligent 
people ;  the  seat  of  Madison  Academy,  where  there  were 
a  number  of  Presbyterians  of  whom  one,  the  head  of  a 
family,  was  an  elder  in   the  VVilkes-Barre  church.     The 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  25/ 

young  minister  was  kindly  welcomed  by  all  the  Presby- 
terians and  very  courteously  treated  by  the  ministers  and 
members  of  the  Baptist  and  Methodist  congregations, 
who  generously  opened  their  churches  for  his  services, 
many  of  them  attending  upon  his  ministry.  In  addition 
to  these  two  important  places,  the  missionary,  during  his 
stay  at  Newton,  occupied  eight  school  houses  and  a 
German  Reformed  church  in  different  and  more  remote 
places  in  his  general  field,  most  of  them  once  a  month, 
on  Sabbath  afternoons  ;  preaching  three  times  on  Sabbath 
and  frequently  on  week  evenings.  This  enabled  him  to 
reach  twice  as  many  as  would  have  heard  him  had  he 
confined  himself  to  the  central  church. 

Oct.  24,  1848,  Mr.  Osmond  married  Miss  Margaret 
Francina,  daughter  of  Robert  Murdagh,  a  life  long  elder 
in  the  Oxford  church,  Chester  Co.,  Pa.  Elder  Peter 
Richards  furnished  the  minister  and  his  wife  a  home  in  a 
part  of  his  new  house,  where  they  lived  comfortably  two 
years.  This  marriage  brought  an  efficient  helper  into  the 
Newton  congregation. 

Mr.  Osmond  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of 
the  Newton  church,  May  4,  1849. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  ministry  till  the  spring  of 
1850  there  had  been  a  gradual  increase  in  the  congre- 
gation, over  the  whole  field,  and  a  special  work  of  grace, 
at  Newton  and  in  other  parts,  including  Abington. 

It  was  understood  from  the  beginning  that  at  least 
one  person  at  Abington,  Mr.  Leonard  Bachelder,  a  graduate 
of  Amherst  College,  had  been  affiliated  with  the  New 
School  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  with  which  the 
Presbytery  of  Montrose  was  connected,  but  he  had  most 
cordially  co-operated  with  the  Luzerne  missionary.     In 


258  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

April,  1850,  however,  the  field  was  visited  by  the  Rev. 
Burr  Baldwin,  who  was  at  the  time  acting  as  the  mission- 
ary of  Montrose  Presbytery,  and,  at  a  meeting  which  had 
been  called  by  him  at  Aldington,  and  which  Mr.  Osmond 
attended  at  his  invitation,  the  organization  of  a  New 
School  Presbyterian  church,  then  and  there,  was  insisted 
upon  by  Mr.  Baldwin.  Although  the  attendance  was 
very  slim,  and  notwithstanding  Mr.  Osmond  proposed 
that  definite  action  should  be  postponed  until  the 
members  of  Presbyterian  churches  residing  in  the  vicinity 
could  be  allowed  an  opportunity  of  voting  on  the  matter 
and  of  intelligently  deciding  for  themselves  the  question 
of  Presbyterial  jurisdiction,* —  still  Mr.  Baldwin  pro- 
ceeded with  the  accomplishment  of  his  purpose,  refusing 
even  at  that  time,  to  put  the  matter  to  a  vote  of  those 
present.  Five  persons  agreed  to  enter  the  organization, 
and  one  of  these,  Israel  Brundage,  a  young  student  in 
Madison  Academy,  was  ordained  and  installed  a  ruling 
elder.  This  young  man  left  the  place  in  a  few  months, 
and  subsequently  became  a  useful  minister  in  the  New 
School  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days,  thirteen  Presbyterians  of 
Abington  signed  a  petition  for  the  organization  of  a 
Presbyterian  church  in  that  town  to  be  connected  with 
the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  according  to  their  natural  and 
geographical  relations,  and  there  were  others  who  favored 
the  movement. 

A  conference  to  settle  the  matter  was  soon  afterwards 
arranged    by    the    two    Presbyteries.        The    Rev.    Dr. 

*As  was  urged,  at  the  abqve  meeting,  by  Mr.  Osmond,  Luzerne  Presby- 
tery was  entitled  to  the  ground  by  the  terms  of  the  original  division  of 
territory,  as  stipulated  when  the  Montrose  Presbytery  was  constituted 
from  a  part  of  Susquehanna,  and  by  many  years  of  occupancy.  See 
Chap.  V,  Susquehanna  Presbytery. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  259 

Roland  of  Honesdale,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Riley,  and  the  Hon. 
Judge  Jessup,  were  understood  to  have  been  originally- 
appointed  as  representatives  of  Montrose,  and  Drs. 
Dorrance,  Mitchell  and  Parke,  of  Luzerne.  The  con- 
ference was  held  at  Abington,  but  was  not  attended  by 
the  Montrose  brethren  first  appointed.  Those  who  did 
attend  from  that  Presbytery  assumed  that  they  now  had  a 
church  in  Abington,  and  could  not  alienate  it,  but  by  its 
own  vote;  that  the  only  thing  for  the  Presbyterians  who 
preferred  connection  with  Luzerne  Presbytery  to  do,  was 
to  come  into  that  church  and  outvote  the  existing 
members.  So  questionable  an  expedient  did  not,  of 
course,  find  favor,  and  nothing  to  change  the  existing 
state  of  things  was  agreed  upon. 

Even  at  the  New  School  organization  and  in  direct 
connection  with  it,  those  who  had  entered  into  it 
requested  Mr.  Osmond  to  go  on  with  his  labors  in 
Abington  and  supply  the  newly  organized  church.  This, 
under  the  circumstances,  he  did  not  feel  that  he  could 
consistently  do,  nor  did  he  regard  it  as  his  duty  to 
continue  his  services  with  even  the  larger  number  who 
desired  to  remain  in  connection  with  the  Luzerne 
Presbytery.  He  therefore  asked  his  Presbytery  to  allow 
him  to  give  up  work  in  that  part  of  his  legitimate  field, 
simply  because  the  conditions  into  which  our  operations 
in  Abington  had  been  unhappily  precipitated,  by  the 
divisive  course  pursued,  had  utterly  destroyed  the  hope  of 
usefulness ;  and  a  wide  and  destitute  field  still  remained 
for  him  outside  of  Abington.  Other  brethren  were  for  a 
time  sent  to  fill  our  appointments,  among  them  the  Rev. 
Reuben  P.  Lowrie,  of  blessed  memory,  whose  connection 
with  Luzerne  Presbytery  we  are  yet  to  consider.     The 


26o  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Presbytery  gradually  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
better  to  relinquish  its  rights  than  contend  with  brethren 
whom  it  loved.  Some  of  the  Presbyterians  who  adhered 
to  their  former  preferences  made  their  home  with 
churches  outside  of  Abington,  and  others  fell  in  with  the 
new  organization. 

In  the  fall  of  1849  the  Newton  church  enjoyed  a  gra- 
cious outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  whole  commu- 
nity was  stirred  ;  many  souls  were  born  into  the  kingdom, 
and  the  membership  of  the  little  church  in  which  Mr.  O. 
had  found  about  40  active  members  at  the  beginning  of  his 
work,  was  increased  to  double  of  its  original  number. 
Meetings  were  protracted  for  a  considerable  time,  and  the 
young  pastor  was,  during  their  progress,  greatly  aided  by 
brethren  of  the  Presbytery,  especially  by  his  neighboring 
pastors — Parke,  Porter  and  Lane.  Mr.  Hunt  had,  in  the 
preceding  year,  frequently  visited  and  assisted  the  minis- 
ter at  Newton.  As  a  result  of  the  revival,  not  only  was  the 
Presbyterian  church  strengthened,  but  its  fruits  caused  the 
organization,  or  re-organization,  of  a  Baptist  church.  In 
the  second  year  of  his  pastorate  the  congregation  built 
their  minister  a  house,  on  land  adjoining  the  church 
given  by  Elder  Collum.  It  was  not  a  costly  building,  but 
sufficiently  spacious  and  comely  for  the  general  condition 
of  things. 

The  next  year  after  the  erection  of  the  parsonage  a 
school  house  was  built  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  church, 
and  Newton  Hall  Academy  was  started.  This  enterprise 
is  thought  to  have  originated  in  an  effort  made  by  Mrs. 
Osmond  to  which  she  herself  attached  little  importance, 
to  aid  some  young  people  in  the  study  of  grammar. 

The  pastor  was  made  principal  of  the  academy.     The 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  26 1 

earnings  of  the  institution  and  the  aid  offered  by  our 
Board  of  Education  were  all  used  in  employing  the  very 
best  teacher  that  could  be  secured.  During  the  six  years 
of  Mr.  O's  principalsbip  his  assistant  was  the  Rev.  W.  C. 
Davis,  a  graduate  of  Lafayette  College  and  Princeton  The- 
ological Seminary,  who  made  teaching  his  life-work. 

This  Christian  school  did  good  work,  not  only  for  its 
pupils  but  also  by  raising  the  standard  of  instruction  in 
the  public  schools  of  the  community.  It  is  to  be  regret- 
ted that  it  was  not  kept  up  longer.  The  pastor  acted  as 
principal,  and  spent  a  part  of  every  school  day  in  taking 
some  part  in  its  exercises  and  conducting  some  of  his  ad- 
vanced classes,  and  he  regards  the  work  done  in  this  insti- 
tution as  among  the  most  profitable  of  his  pastoral  serv- 
ices. 

Early  in  Mr.  Osmond's  pastorate  Horace  Collum, 
William  C.  Ayers  and  Lewis  Litts  were  added  to  the 
session.  The  people  of  the  Newton  congregation  were 
thoughtful  of  their  minister's  comfort,  kindly  supplement- 
ing their  subscriptions  by  many  tokens  of  their  regard, 
which  greatly  aided  in  his  support.  The  Donation  Day 
in  the  Newton  congregation  was  to  them  a  great  day,  and 
it  showed  the  largeness  of  their  hearts  when  their  means 
were  considered. 

One  of  the  original  elders,  Peter  Richards,  who  had 
been  an  earnest,  efficient  worker  in  the  church,  died  Sep- 
tember, 1850.  This  was  a  serious  loss.  The  other  orig- 
inal elder,  Peter  Cornelius,  was  a  great  sufferer  from 
asthma,  and  was  for  many  years  unable  to  do  any  kind  of 
work.  The  more  recently  elected  elders  were  active  and 
deeply  interested  in  the  prosperity  of  the  church.  There 
was,  however,  but  little  increase  in  the  population,  and, 


262  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

while  there  was,  in  view  of  the  existing  condition  of 
things,  an  encouraging  increase  of  membership,  and  times 
of  quickening  were  enjoyed,  yet  the  church  did  not  rai>idly 
increase.  It  did  indeed  become  more  thoroughly  Presby- 
terian, and  therefore  more  entirely  assimilated  to  the 
great  body  of  which  it  was  a  part.  Its  improved  spirit 
and  influence  are  evinced  by  the  growing  usefulness  of  its 
younger  members  in  the  subsequent  history  of  the  church 
in  which  they  were  born,  and  in  the  activities  of  other 
local  churches  with  which  the  lots  of  some  of  them  were 
afterwards  cast  as  officers  and  members. 

Mr.  Osmond  resigned  his  pastorate  in  the  summer  of 
1857,  and,  by  the  appointment  of  Presbytery,  took  charge 
of  mission  work  at  Eckley  and  White  Haven. 

The  Rev.  William  E.  Holmes,  a  member  of  the  Mo- 
kawk  Presbytery,  became  stated  supply  of  the  Newton 
church.  Previous  to  coming  from  the  Synod  of  Albany, 
Mr.  Holmes  had  been  for  a  time  pastor  of  a  Congrega- 
tional church,  but  just  where  it  was  located  has  not  been 
learned.  The  academy  was  not  opened  for  pupils  during 
his  ministry,  which  continued  till  1859,  when  we  find  him 
reported  as  stated  supply  of  Northmoreland  and  Me- 
hoopany  churches,  with  his  home  at  Ransom,  Pa.  This 
relation  he  sustained  till  1867,  when  his  name  no  longer 
appears  on  the  roll  of  the  General  Assembly. 

After  Mr.  Holmes'  term  of  service  in  the  Newton 
church  expired,  we  find  it  in  charge  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Bruce  Adams,  who  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pa.,  in 
1 80 1.  He  graduated  from  Jefferson  College  and  Prince- 
ton Theological  Seminary.  For  a  time  he  was  a  mis- 
sionary in  the  Huntington  Presbytery,  ordained  as  an 
Evangelist  October    6th,    1830.      Mr.    Adams'    ministry 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  263 

was  in  the  south,  the  central  west  and  interior  of  Pennsyl- 
vania before  coming  to  Newton  church  in  1859.  The 
early  part  of  his  ministry  as  stated  supply  at  Newton  was 
attended  with  encouraging  success,  but  during  its  latter 
part  he  experienced  some  hindrance  in  his  work,  owing 
to  the  excitement  occasioned  by  the  civil  war. 

In  1863  he  retired  from  the  Newton  charge  and  re- 
sided in  Easton,  where  he  acted  as  an  agent  of  the 
"  U.  S.  Christian  Commission"  until  his  earthly  labors 
were  ended  by  his  death,  which  occurred  July  5,  1865. 
He  left  a  widow  and  one  son,  who  also  studied  for  the 
ministry,  but  does  not  seem  to  have  entered  fully  upon 
the  work,  although  he  had  passed  through  an  extended 
course  of  study.  This  son,  Joseph  Bruce  Williams 
Adams,  died  July  4th,  1872,  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
The  father  was  a  man  of  energy  and  possessed  of  a  mis- 
sionary spirit,  as  is  evident  from  his  career.  He  is  under- 
stood to  have  been  an  acceptable  preacher,  and  withal, 
patriotic. 

The  Rev.  John  H.  Sargent  next  became  the  stated 
supply  of  the  Newton  church.  He  was  born  in  Massa- 
chusetts February  28,  1828,  graduated  from  Dartmouth 
College  in  1852,  and  from  Princeton  Theological  Sem- 
inary in  1856.  He  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia  April  3rd,  1856,  where  his  father,  Winthrop 
Sargent,  then  lived  and  filled  the  office  of  "Superintend- 
ent of  Colportage  and  Business  Correspondent ' '  of  the 
Board  of  Publication,  continuing  in  that  position  from 
1854-70. 

Mr.  Sargent  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Erie,  June  T6th,  1861,  as  an  evangelist.  In  the  meantime 
he  had  done  evangelistic  work  in  Maryland  and  North 


264  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Carolina.  After  his  ordination  he  spent  some  time  as 
stated  supply  of  the  Perry  church  in  Pennsylvania.  While 
engaged  with  this  church  he  secured  the  organization  of 
the  Oil  City  Presbyterian  church,  which  has  become  large 
and  important. 

He  became  stated  supply  of  the  Newton  church  in 
1864,  and  continued  in  charge  of  it  till  '69.  During  his 
ministry  there  he  seems  to  have  prospered,  as  the  church 
reported  its  largest  membership  at  that  time.  After  leav- 
ing Newton  he  supplied  Osceola  church  in  Bradford 
county  one  year.  In  1870  he  took  charge  of  the  Phillips- 
burg  church,  which  he  continued  to  supply  till  1878,  and 
from  which  point  he  extended  his  work  to  other  places, 
where  he  gathered  other  churches.  From  the  last  date 
till  1880,  Mr.  Sargent  was  unable  to  labor,  but  on  re- 
covering he  took  charge  of  the  church  of  Peru,  N.  Y., 
which  he  continued  to  serve  till  1888.  Two  years  later 
he  died  of  apoplexy  at  Fort  Worth,  Staten  Island. 
Throughout  his  entire  ministry,  and  indeed  in  his  college 
course,  he  was  greatly  hindered  by  the  want  of  vigorous 
health.  By  those  who  knew  him  intimately  he  is  spoken 
of  as  "an  earnest  and  devout  Christian,  and  always  un- 
tiring in  his  labors,  although  so  much  burdened  by  bodily 
weakness."  He  married,  June  2nd,  1858,  Miss  Frances 
Eugenia  Hall,  of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  who  survived  him. 
When  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  ceased  to  be,  the  Rev. 
Ashbel  Green  Harned,  of  whom  we  have  already  written, 
was  in  charge  of  the  Newton  church.  He  afterwards  was 
regularly  installed  its  pastor. 

When  Mr.  Osmond  resigned  his  pastoral  charge  of 
Newton,  his  Presbytery  appointed  him,  at  the  request  of 
the  White  Haven  and  Eckley  churches,  their  temporary 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  265 

supply.  He  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  position, 
November,  1857. 

There  were  choice  spirits  in  both  these  enrolled 
companies  of  Presbyterian  believers.  They  were  local 
churches,  though  at  this  time  neither  of  them  had  a 
session,  yet  were  they  fully  competent  to  provide  for  this 
necessity  to  orderly  rule  and  representation. 

Neither  session  nor  pastor,  which  are  both  creatures 
of  the  enrolled  body  of  believers,  are  absolutely  essential 
to  the  existence  of  a  church,  but  certainly  are  to  its  com- 
pleteness. The  more  recent  of  the  two  churches  of  which 
we  are  speaking  was  the  first  to  attain  that  completeness, 
although  as  yet  without  a  local  home  or  habitation. 

The  Eckley  church,  like  the  church  of  Scranton,  was 
then  enrolled  by  the  name  of  an  ex-president,  Fillmore  ; 
but  when  the  new  town  wanted  a  post  office,  it  found,  as 
the  Scranton  people  had,  that  the  name  they  would  honor 
was  already  appropriated  within  the  Commonwealth,  and 
another  must  be  selected  for  the  place.  The  choice  was 
that  of  a  popular  young  man,  a  son  of  the  late  Judge  Cox, 
the  proprietor  from  whom  the  Council  Ridge  Coal  Com- 
pany had  leased,  for  twenty-five  years,  the  1,500  acres  of 
land  upon  which  it  had  built  the  town  and  works.  This 
ultimately  changed  the  name  of  the  church,  which  was 
located  on  the  top  of  Buck  Mountain,  about  seven  miles 
from  White  Haven,  on  the  Lehigh,  at  the  head  of  slack 
water  navigation. 

The  gentlemen  composing  the  Council  Ridge  Coal 
Company,  were  high-toned  Christian  men,  who  conducted 
their  extensive  business  with  an  evident  regard  for  the 
highest  good  of  all  assisting  them  in  their  operations,  as 
well  as  for  their  own  individual  gains.     These  gentlemen 


266  PRESBYTERY  OV    LUZERNE. 

were  Richard  Sharpe,  an  Episcopalian  ;  John  Leisenring, 
Presbyterian  ;  Francis  Weise,  Lutheran  ;  Asa  Foster,  Epis- 
copalian, and  Mr.  Belford,  Presbyterian.  Of  course,  in 
building  a  town  to  accommodate  from  800  to  1,000  peo- 
ple, upon  leased  property,  the  buildings  must  be  as  inex- 
pensive as  possible,  but  they  were  well  ap})ointed  for  com- 
fort and  neatness.  As  soon  as  families  came  in,  a 
convenient  school  house  was  erected  and  a  school  was 
opened  by  the  company,  without  waiting  for  the  operation 
of  the  school  law.  This  school  building  was  at  once  used 
for  preaching  services  and  a  union  Sabbath  School,  and 
while  this  Sabbath  School  continued,  the  president  of  the 
company,  Mr.  Sharpe,  was  the  superintendent.  Before 
a  dollar  was  received  from  the  sale  of  coal  in  the  market, 
Mr.  Leisenring,  the  architect  of  the  town,  had  secured 
from  our  Presbytery,  the.  services  of  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Por- 
ter, for  a  part  of  his  time,  and  Mr.  Sharpe  also  secured 
the  services  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Russell  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  who  supplied  the  other  part  of  the  time,  and  this 
arrangement  was  long  continued  in  perfect  harmony. 
The  same  ministers  supplied  their  respective  churches  at 
White  Haven,  alternating  as  to  time. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Osmond  came  to  the  field,  Hugh 
Hyndman  and  Peter  Cunningham  were  inducted  into  the 
office  of  ruling  elders  at  Eckley,  and  they  "  ruled  well." 
It  was  not  until  August  31st,  1859,  that  Mr.  Joseph 
Bloom  was  ordained  and  installed  at  White  Haven.  That 
church  had  been  without  a  session  since  1853.  Mr.  Os- 
mond accepted  the  invitation  of  these  two  churches  to 
continue  his  labors,  but  not  seeing  the  way  clear  to  be 
installed  at  White  Haven,  as  the  people  desired,  remained 
till  August  of  1863  pastor  in  everything  but  the  name. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  267 

The  field  was  not  extensive  at  either  of  the  two  central 
points,  but  was  important,  and  with  the  cordial  co-opera- 
tion received,  and  the  very  generous  treatment  of  his 
people  extended  to  him  and  his  family,  it  was  an  exceed- 
ingly pleasant  charge  ;  all  classes  were  in  perfect  harmony. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  Sabbath  preaching  at  both 
churches,  preaching  was  regularly  maintained  at  Morrison, 
midway  between  White  Haven  and  Eckley,  at  Jeddo  and 
Ebervale,  towards  Hazleton,  and  occasionally  at  the  Tan- 
nery, down  the  Lehigh. 

The  question  with  reference  to  providing  houses  of 
worship  was  early  raised.  The  company  generously  pro- 
posed to  erect  a  building  at  its  own  expense,  but  the  Pres- 
byterian element  thought  it  best  that  each  church  organi- 
zation should  own  its  own  place  of  worship.  With  this 
the  company  generously  acquiesced  and  lent  its  aid  in 
securing  lots  and  warranty  deeds  for  the  same. 

The  Presbyterian  church  was  a  very  neat  and  com- 
fortable building,  having  a  basement  for  Sabbath  School 
and  prayer  meeting  purposes. 

The  growth  at  Eckley  was  encouraging,  seasons  of 
spiritual  refreshment  were  enjoyed,  and  the  Sabbath 
school  was  well  attended  and  interesting.  Two  young 
ladies  from  the  Wyoming  church,  who  were  engaged  at 
Eckley  as  teachers,  viz..  Miss  Susan  C.  Hunt  and  Miss 
Hattie  Ensign,  rendered  in  the  early  days  of  the  Sabbath 
School  valuable  assistance  in  its  operations. 

Increase  of  membership  at  White  Haven  was  no* 
rapid,  yet  additions  were  received  from  time  to  time. 
The  church  building  was  very  inconvenient  as  to  location. 
During  Mr.  Osmond's  term  of  service  more  eligible  lots 
were  selected,  but  the  erection  of  a  new  house  of  worship 


268  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

was  somewhat  delayed  by  the  fact  that,  in  the  summer  of 
1862  there  was  in  the  Lehigh  river  an  unprecedented 
freshet  which  utterly  carried  away  all  the  dams  of  the 
slack  water  canal,  and  for  a  time  the  business  of  the  place 
was  arrested.  This,  however,  ultimately  proved  a  great 
blessing  by  making  it  an  important  railroad  town. 

The  Sabbath  School  in  White  Haven  has  not,  like 
the  church,  been  subject  to  frequent  change  of  manage- 
ment. Mr.  E.  P.  Morris  has  had  the  superintendency 
since  before  Mr.  Osmond's  time,  and  they  have  always 
had  a  good  school. 

Since  1863  Mr.  Osmond  has  been  engaged  in  Home 
Mission  work  in  Iowa,  North  Dakota,  and  on  the  Pacific 
coast.  In  all  these  varied  fields  of  labor  the  Master  has 
given  him  some  measure  of  success,  some  of  which  has 
been  due  to  generous  aid  from  friends  in  his  former  east- 
ern charges.  In  none  of  his  pastorates  has  he  been  the 
successor  of  a  regularly  installed  predecessor.  He  now 
resides  in  Tacoma,  Washington,  as  a  retired  minister, 
though  still,  as  strength  and  opportunity  permit,  engaged 
in  the  service  of  the  Master. 

There  were  in  Eckley  and  White  Haven  many  Ger- 
man families  who  were  entirely  ignorant  of  our  language, 
and  for  whose  religious  instruction  no  provision  had  been 
made  by  German  speaking  churches.  To  meet  the  wants 
of  this  class  the  services  of  Mr.  Albert  John  Wintereck 
(born  in  Treves,  Prussia,  April  24,  1832,  but  educated 
in  Lafayette  College  and  Princeton  Seminary)  were 
obtained.  He  was  to  preach  in  the  Presbyterian  churches 
of  the  above  named  places  and  do  general  missionary 
work  in  these  communities.  He  was  ordained  as  an  Evan- 
gelist   June    18,    1862.       He   continued   in   the   service 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE,  269 

assigned  him  two  years,  reaching  many  of  his  own  nation- 
ality with  the  gospel  which  he  preached,  but  no  church 
was  organized.  He  was  subsequently  pastor  of  German 
churches  in  New  Jersey  and  New  York  till  1877,  when  he 
seems  to  have  passed  over  to  the  German  Evangelical 
church. 

Before  leaving  the  Eckley  and  White  Haven  field 
Mr.  Osmond  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  place  sup- 
plied by  the  Rev.  James  McMurtree  Salmon,  born  Jan. 
31st,  1825,  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Columbia,  a  grad- 
uate of  Lafayette  College  and  student  of  Princeton  Sem- 
inary, and  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Northumberland 
May  nth,  1859.  He  had  supplied  for  a  time  the  two 
Columbia  county  churches,  Berwick  and  Briar  Creek, 
which  had  been  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne, 
and  from  1859  to  the  time  he  came  to  the  churches  of 
Eckley  and  White  Haven  (August,  '63),  he  had  been 
their  regular  pastor.  He  resided  at  White  Haven  in  his 
new  field,  in  which  he  remained  as  long  as  the  Luzerne 
Presbytery  continued.  After  these  churches  became  a 
part  of  the  Lehigh  Presbytery  Mr.  Salmon  was  installed 
pastor  at  White  Haven.  He  was  well  liked  in  both  parts 
of  his  field. 

It  is  due  to  him  to  state  that  before  he  entered  upon 
his  work  Eckley  had  been  somewhat  weakened  by  the 
removal  of  influential  members,  and,  subsequently,  still 
more  so  by  changes  in  business  management ;  and  at 
White  Haven  the  interruption  of  business,  caused  by  the 
great  flood  of  1862,  had  delayed  the  contemplated  change 
of  site  for  the  church  and  the  erection  of  a  more  commo- 
dious and  better  constructed  house  of  worship.  This, 
however,  was  accomplished  in  1869,  and  was  the  begin- 


270  PKESBVTEKY  OF  LUZERNE. 

ning  of  a  new  and  more  i)rosperous  era  for  the  Presby- 
terian church.  Thus,  much  was  accomplished,  especially 
in  the  way  of  preparatory  work.  The  change  was  seen  at 
once  in  the  increased  attendance  at  the  Sabbath  school, 
and  ultimately  in  the  enlarged  membership  of  the  church, 
though  not  in  a  marked  degree  for  several  years. 


XXV. 


REV.   HENRY  HUNTER  WELLES 

AS 

PASTOR  OF  THE  KINGSTON  CHURCH. 

MR.  WELLES,  although  born  in  Wyalusing,  in  Brad- 
ford county,  was  closely  affiliated  with  the  people 
of  Wyoming  valley.  His  mother  was  a  Hollenback.  We 
have  already  met  him  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy  and 
church.  Like  Dr.  Dorrance,  he  belonged  to  the  general 
community  on  which  his  life  labors  were  bestowed,  and  in 
which  he  is  still  vitally  interested.  His  birth  occurred 
September  15th,  1824.  His  college  course,  which  was 
pursued  at  Princeton,  he  completed  in  1844,  before  his 
twentieth  year.  On  leaving  college  he  seems  to  have  had 
some  idea  of  becoming  a  disciple  of  Blackstone,  but  the 
impulse  did  not  last  long,  for  in  a  little  more  than  a  year 
after  his  graduation,  we  saw  him  matriculated  in  Prince- 
ton Seminary  and  sitting  at  the  feet  of  those  incomparable 
teachers  of  sacred  science,  A.  A.  Alexander,  Samuel 
Miller,  Charles  Hodge  and  J.  Addison  Alexander. 

There,  among  his  associates,  he  was  loved  and  im- 
plicitly trusted,  but,  much  to  the  regret  of  his  numerous 
friends  in  Princeton  and  elsewhere,  toward  the  close  of 
his  term  of  study  in  the  seminary  he  was  missed,  and  his 
place  in  class  and  conference  was  vacant.  His  health  had 
failed,  and  for  a  time  it  was  doubtful  whether  he  would  be 


2/2  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

able  to  eater  fully  upon  ministerial  work.  His  heart, 
however,  still  prompted  him  in  that  direction,  and  we  find 
him  doing  missionary  work  in  Meshoppen  and  elsewhere. 
After  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Porter  he  became  stated  sup- 
ply of  the  Kingston  church,  having  been  licensed  by  the 
Susquehanna  Presbytery,  and  subsequently  ordained  and 
installed  as  pastor  of  that  church,  June  12th,  1851,  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne.*  Mr.  Welles  was  the  seventh  pas- 
tor installed  at  Kingston.  The  Rev.  Messrs.  Corss  and 
Ogden  were  not  fully  inducted  into  the  pastoral  office 
there.  The  territorial  limits  of  the  Kingston  congrega- 
tion had,  as  we  have  seen,  been  greatly  restricted.  The 
population  in  the  rural  parts  devoted  to  agriculture,  dur- 
ing the  existence  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery,  diminished 
rather  than  increased,  in  consecpience  of  the  introduction 
of  new  machinery  in  farming  operations.  There  was  but 
little  to  promote  the  growth  of  the  village  of  Kingston 
for  a  long  time  except  the  excellent  and  flourishing 
Wyoming  Seminary,  and  its  prosperity  tended  rather  to 
the  prosperity  of  another  than  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Consequently,  while  Dr.  Welles  had  a  compact  and  reli- 
able congregation,  its  growth  was  not  rapid.  In  this  field 
our  pastor  did  faithful  and  good  work  and  saw  a  reason- 
able enlargement.  He  enjoyed  the  love  and  confidence 
of  his  people  and  the  cordial  esteem  of  the  community. 

No  member  of  the  Presbytery  was  more  esteemed 
than  the  pastor  of  the  Kingston  church.  Recently  the 
present  pastor,  Rev.  Ferdinand  Krug,  in  an  anniversary 
sermon  preached  in  the  jjresence  of  Dr.  Welles  and  the 
representatives  of  the  congregation  to  which  he  so  long 
ministered,  said  of  his  predecessor  :     ' '  For  twenty  years 

*The  fifth  ordination  of  the  Presbytery. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  2/3 

Mr.  Welles  continued  to  ])reach  the  Word,  administer  the 
sacraments,  visit  and  comfort  the  mourning,  and  bury  the 
dead.  For  twenty  years  he  was  the  faithful  spiritual 
guide  of  the  people.  He  taught  you,  by  precept  and 
example,  in  all  the  work  of  the  church.  Upon  many  of 
you  present  this  morning,  his  hand  sprinkled  the  waters 
of  baptism  ;  and  later,  you  received  from  his  hands  the 
emblems  of  a  Saviour's  broken  body  and  shed  blood  of 
your  first  communion.  Many  of  you  he  has  joined  in 
the  dearest  and  closest  earthly  relationship.  We  thank 
God  for  what  he  has  been  to  this  church,  and  we  love 
him  for  what  he  is  to  us  to-day." 

To  this  merited  testimony.  Dr.  N.  G.  Parke,  who 
has  been  intimately  associated  with  Dr.  Welles  during  his 
whole  ministerial  life,  adds ;  "In  the  old  Presbytery 
there  was  no  brother  more  beloved,  or  that  labored  more 
conscientiously  and  faithfully  than  this  Kingston  pastor. 
He  was  a  man  of  delicate  health  when  he  entered  the 
ministry,  and  his  health  was  not  firm  at  any  time  during 
his  pastorate ;  but  his  labors  were  abundant  and  successful. 
His  home  is  still  among  the  people  for  whom  he  labored 
so  long,  and  he  is  still  active  in  promoting  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  although  unable  longer  to  perform  the  duties  of 
a  pastor. ' ' 

The  Rev.  Dr.  S.  C.  Logan,  who  has  only  known 
Dr.  Welles  during  the  latter  period  of  his  pastorate  at 
Kingston  and  since,  bears  like  testimony  to  this  esteemed 
brother.  Dr.  Welles  had  tact,  as  well  as  faithfulness,  in 
the  performance  of  his  pastoral  work.  The  writer,  who 
was  with  him  a  few  days  during  a  protracted  meeting, 
well  remembers  his  ability  to  give  conversation  such  a 
turn  as  would  naturally  and  easily  bring  up  that  subject 


274  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

which  the  devoted  pastor  regards  as  the  main  subject  to 
be  dwelt  upon  in  pastoral  visits,  viz.,  the  relation  of  his 
parishioners  to  Christ  and  salvation,  and  their  progress  in 
the  divine  life,  while  present  interests,  privileges  and 
pleasures  are  by  no  means  to  be  ignored.  On  one  of  the 
occasions  referred  to,  we  had  called  on  the  family  of  the 
late  Governor  Hoyt.  Mr.  Hoyt  was  at  home.  At  that 
time  he  was  not  a  professor  of  religion,  but  an  accom- 
plished gentleman. 

The  subject  of  conversation  was  suggested  by  the 
admirable  location  of  the  beautiful  home  we  had  entered, 
the  delightful  prospect  enjoyed  from  it  in  almost  every 
direction  toward  which  the  eye  could  be  turned.  In  the 
midst  of  our  expressions  of  mutual  satisfaction,  Mr. 
Welles,  turning  to  the  owner  of  that  beautiful  home,  in 
that  beautiful  valley,  said,  in  a  natural,  easy  way: 
"  Heaven  is  more  beautiful  than  this."  Even  had  there 
been  nothing  more  said,  which,  according  to  my  recol- 
lection, was  not  the  case,  there  was  in  the  pastor's 
utterance  food  for  thought  and  wholesome  incentive  to 
right  action  as  well  as  right  thinking  afforded. 

Dr.  Welles,  like  many  of  his  co-presbyters,  was 
blessed  with  a  good  wife,  who  not  only  cheered  his 
home,  but  greatly  helped  his  work.  She  had  accompanied 
her  husband  when  he  came  to  Kingston. 

They  had  been  married  Oct.  12,  1849,  in  Farming- 
ton,  Me.  The  arrangements  for  this  marriage,  if  "  made 
in  heaven,"  as  doubtless  was  the  case,  were  somewhat 
on  the  circumlocution  order.  Mrs.  Welles'  brother,  the 
Rev.  Francis  D.  Ladd,  had  been  sent  into  Pennsylvania 
on  an  important  mission, —  first  to  work  at  Silver  Lake, 
in   Susquehanna   Co.,  afterwards  to  the  pastorate  of  the 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  2/5 

Penn  Presbyterian  church,  Philadelphia,  where  his  mem- 
ory is  precious.  His  successful  work  was  not  long 
continued,  for  he  fell  at  his  post  ere  his  sun  had  reached 
its  meridian. 

While  at  work  at  Silver  Lake,  his  sister,  Miss  Ellen 
S.  Ladd,  visited  him,  and  there  Mr.  Welles  found  her ; 
and  we  have  seen  what  followed,  making  her,  in  the 
language  of  another,  "his  faithful  and  noble  helpmate  for 
nearly  half  a  century."  Of  her,  the  same  writer,  after 
her  unexpected  death,  which  occurred  recently,  said  : 
"To  those  who  have  known  Mrs.  Welles  during  her  long 
residence  in  Wyoming  Valley,  no  post  mortem  eulogy  is 
necessary.  Born  of  the  best  old  Pilgrim  stock,  she 
honored  her  descent,  traced  in  both  the  paternal  and 
maternal  lines  from  many  well  known  old  families, 
by  a  life-long  attention  to  duty ;  leaving  behind  her  a 
bereaved  husband,  three  children  and  an  adopted  daughter, 
all  well  known  among  us,  and  all  of  whom  have  through 
life  illustrated,  by  their  daily  walk,  the  high  standard 
of  Christian  ethics  taught  and  exemplified  by  her  whose 
loss  they  now  deplore."     How  blessed  such  a  memory! 

Dr.  Welles  is  still,  by  example  and  precept,  holding 
forth  the  Word  of  Life ;  and  is  a  connecting  link  between 
the  fathers  we  so  greatly  revere  and  their  sons  to  whom 
we  look  with  so  much  hope  for  the  years  to  come. 


XXVI. 
THE  REV.   REUBEN  POST  LOWRIE. 

AFTER  the  ordination  of  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Welles, 
Jnne  12,  1851,  it  was  not  until  March  22,  1854, 
that  another  occurred.  This  was  the  ordination  of  Mr. 
Lowrie.  His  connection  with  the  Presbytery  brought  it 
into  very  close  touch  with  the  Foreign  Missionary  family, 
par  excellence,  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

The  Hon.  Walter  Lowrie,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  had,  by  his  part  in  the  establishment  and 
management  of  our  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  done 
much  to  make  it  second  only  in  our  country  to  the  great 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  toward  which 
Presbyterians  had  largely  contributed,  in  men  and  money, 
for  many  years. 

To  take  up  this  work  and  press  it  forward,  Mr. 
Lowrie  had  relinquished  earthly  honors  and  emoluments. 
In  doing  so  he  was  honored  by  his  church,  in  her  ready 
and  hearty  co-operation  with  his  wise  and  successful 
management  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  and  by  the 
distinguished  labors  and  sacrifices  of  his  own  sons,  two  of 
whom  early  went  forth  courageously  to  the  front,  in  the 
battle  against  the  darkness  of  heathen  lands.  One  of 
them  was  driven  back  by  sickness  and  bereavement,  but 
only  to  enter  another  department  of  the  same  life-saving 
work,    in    which    he    has    long    and    faithfully    toiled.* 

*The  Rev.  Dr.  John  C.  Lowrie,  Senior  Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  2^7 

Another  sleeps  in  his  watery  grave,  which  he  reached  by 
the  violence  of  those  whom  he  sought  to  serve. 

Another  son  of  the  same  devoted  sire  was  fomid 
among  us  in  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  doing  good  ser- 
vice for  the  Master.  He  was  then  carrying  with  him  a 
copy  of  the  divine  word  which  had  fallen  from  the  hands 
of  his  martyred  brother,  Walter  M.  Lowrie,  off  the  coast 
of  China.  He  had  written  on  its  fly  leaf,  under  an  im- 
pression of  the  perils  he  had  encountered  from  the  ocean, 
in  order  to  tell  the  Chinese  of  the  way  of  life  :  '*  There 
shall  be  no  more  sea."  The  desire  to  take  that  book 
back  to  China  and  fill  the  place  of  the  fallen  in  ex- 
pounding its  heavenly  messages,  made  Reuben  Lowrie 
unwilling  to  remain  where  there  were  so  many  others  to 
carry  on  the  work  of  Christ  in  his  native  land.  Therefore, 
soon  after  his  ordination,  he  turned  his  face  to  the  Orient, 
where,  as  a  Missionary  of  the  Cross,  he  labored  faithfully 
and  successfully,  until  he  fell  at  his  post,  April  26th,  i860. 
His  beloved  wife,  his  son,  Rev.  James  Walter  Lowrie, 
and  his  daughter,  and  her  husband.  Dr.  B.  C.  Atterbury, 
still  represent  the  Lowrie  family  in  missionary  work  in 
China.  A  short  time  ago,  the  writer  enjoyed  the  oppor- 
tunity of  becoming  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Reuben  Lowrie, 
and  her  son,  the  Rev.  J-  Walter  Lowrie,  in  Tacoma, 
Washington,  and  found  them  possessed  of  the  same 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart  as  those  of  the  beloved 
brother  whom  he  had  assisted  in  ordaining  in  1854. 

The  following  discriminating  sketch  from  the  now 
oldest  member  of  the  late  Luzerne  Presbytery  is  gladly 
given  here  instead  of  anything  I  might  say.  The  Rev. 
N.  G.  Parke,  D.  D.,  writes:  "The  Rev.  Reuben  Post 
Lowrie,  the  fifth  son    of  the    Hon.   Walter    Lowrie,  was 


278  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

given  to  the  Chinese  Mission  in  1854.  He  died  in 
Shanghai  in  i860,  but  his  widow  and  their  son  and 
daughter,  still  represent  the  missionary  spirit  of  the  family 
as  efficient  missionaries  at  Paoting  fu,  North  China." 
This  is  quoted  from  Dr.  F.  F.  Ellinwood's  brief  notice 
of  Reuben  P.  Lowrie,  which  Dr.  Parke  supplements  by 
saying:  "It  refers  to  one  of  the  most  devoted  and 
promising  young  missionaries  we  have  ever  sent  into  the 
foreign  field,  whose  early  death  brought  sorrow  to  many 
who  knew  and  loved  him  in  Wyoming  Valley. 

"  After  graduating  with  honor  in  the  University  of 
New  York  City,  and  completing  his  studies  in  Princeton, 
New  Jersey,  he  was  chosen  principal  of  the  Institute  at 
Wyoming  that  had  just  been  established  under  the 
auspices  of  the  old  Presbytery  of  Luzerne.  This  position 
he  occupied  for  two  years.  Wyoming  is  in  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  same  name,  some  three  miles  south  of  Pitts- 
ton  and  six  north  of  Wilkes-Barre,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Susquehanna.  While  Mr.  Lowrie  was  in  charge  of  this 
institution,  it  was  my  privilege  to  meet  him  often.  Our 
house  was  one  of  his  homes  while  he  was  in  this  region, 
and  we  learned  to  love  and  esteem  him  as  a  finished  scholar 
and  earnest  Christian  man.  In  the  school  it  was  won- 
derful how  speedily  he  won  the  hearts  of  the  students  and 
all  the  patrons  of  the  institution.  He  was  always  cheer- 
ful, unassuming,  entertaining  and  devoted  to  his  work. 
He  possessed  the  happy  faculty  of  making  himself  at  home, 
and  those  whom  he  met  at  ease,  in  the  humblest  cottage 
as  well  as  in  the  home  of  luxury.  Of  his  purpose  in  life, 
he  said  little  to  anyone,  but  his  brethren  in  the  Presbytery 
and  the  trustees  of  the  Institute,  knew  that  it  was  in  his 
mind  and  heart   when    the   way   was   clear   to   go   as   a 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  279 

missionary  to  China,  where  his  brother,  Walter  M., perished. 
They  hoped,  however,  that  as  he  became  acquainted 
with  the  demand  there  was  in  this  home  field  for  just  such 
service  as  he  was  able  to  give,  he  would  change  his  mind 
and  consent  to  settle  here.  He  was  a  very  acceptable 
preacher  and  the  young  and  growing  church  of  Scranton, 
which  was  vacant,  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  have  bim 
accept  a  call  from  it.  The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Dorrance, 
Rev.  T.  P.  Hunt  and  the  Rev.  J.  D.  Mitchell,  (the  re- 
tiring pastor),  who  had  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  bring- 
ing him  here,  united  with  the  Scranton  people  in  urging 
him  to  accept  their  call.  To  my  mind  it  appeared  so 
clear  that  he  should  stay  here,  that  I  invited  him  to  my 
study  and  talked  the  matter  over  with  him  seriously  and 
earnestly.  He  heard  me  quietly,  and  then  replied  ten- 
derly, but  decidedly,  in  substance  :  '  What  you  have  said 
of  the  great  need  of  laborers  in  this  part  of  the  Lord's 
vineyard  is  true.  I  admit  it  all  and  appreciate  the  kind 
feelings  of  the  Scranton  people,  but  you  have  Christian 
ministers,  elders  and  laymen  in  this  valley.  The  millions 
of  China  virtually  have  none  to  tell  them  of  the  way  of 
life  through  Christ.  I  am  interested  in  the  work  here, 
but  I  must  go  to  China.' 

"  He  believed  that  God  had  called  him  to  go  there, 
and  he  could  not  stay  here.  There  was  nothing  more 
said.  After  a  year  spent  in  Spencer  Academy,  with  the 
Choctaw  Indians,  and  the  way  was  clear  for  him  to  go  to 
China,  he  came  to  Wilkes-Barre,  and,  in  Dr.  Dorrance' s 
church,  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  as  an 
evangelist. 

"  His  father,  the  Hon.  Walter  Lowrie,  of  whom  Dr. 
Ellenwood  had  recently  written  so  pleasantly  and  truth- 


280  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

fully,  was  present,  and  made  a  touching  and  impressive 
address.  He  expressed  no  regret  at  the  decision  of  his 
son  to  go  to  China.  On  the  other  hand,  he  gave  thanks 
to  the  great  Head  of  the  church  for  calling  him.  He  had 
already  given  two  sons  to  this  work  and  was  more  than 
willing  to  give  another.* 

"It  is  now  more  than  forty  years  since  the  ordination 
of  this  brother,  and  in  my  mind's  eye  I  can  still  see  that 
venerable  Christian  father  making  this  parting  address  to 
his  dear  boy  who  was  leaving  him  to  return  no  more. 

"  In  the  course  of  this  memorable  address,  he  spoke 
of  a  scene  he  had  witnessed  a  few  weeks  before  in  New 
York.  Two  mothers  had  come  on  board  the  ship  on 
which  their  daughters  were  about  to  sail  for  their  fields 
of  missionary  labor  in  India.  One  of  these  mothers  was 
simply  inconsolable  ;  the  other  bore  uj)  so  bravely  and 
was  so  cheerful  that  some  one  made  free  to  ask  her,  how 
she  could  be  so  calm  and  apparently  happy  under  the 
circumstances?  With  a  sweet  smile  on  her  motherly  face, 
she  answered  :  '  Why  should  I  not  be  happy?  I  gave  my 
child  to  the  Lord  before  she  was  born,  and  now  that  God 
has  called  her  to  work  for  Him,  what  more  could  I 
ask  for  her? 

"  How  true  it  is  that  '  God's  ways  are  not  our  ways ; 
nor  his  thoughts,  our  thoughts.'  So  far  as  we  can  see  this 
dear  brother  was  needed  in  China.  His  facility  in  ac- 
quiring language  made  it  easy  work  for  him  to  master  the 
difficult  language  of  the  country  to  which  he  went.  He 
was  able  to  preach  to  the  people  there  in  their  own  lan- 
guage inside  of  a  year  after  leaving  America.  By  nature, 
culture  and  grace,  and  in  every  other  way,  so  far  as  we 

♦Hesaid  if  he  had  a  hundred  sons,  he  would  be  glad  to  have  them  all 
missionaries. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  251 

could  see,  he  was  eminently  fitted  for  the  work  into 
which  he  had  put  his  whole  heart.  But  He  who  called 
him  to  this  work  and  fitted  him  for  it,  and  in  the 
morning  of  life  called  him  from  it,  makes  no  mistakes. 
'  What  He  does  we  know  not  now,  but  shall  know  here- 
after.' " 

No  doubt  Reuben  P.  Lowrie's  brief  connection  with 
the  Luzerne  Presbytery,  and  his  going  as  its  repre- 
sentative into  one  of  the  most  difficult  and  distant 
missionary  fields,  has  done  much  for  the  cause  in  the 
Presbytery  which  sent  him  forth  and  followed  him  with 
its  prayers. 


XXVII. 
THE  REV.  JOHN  ARMSTRONG,  D.  D. 

IN  September,  1854,  the  writer  was  visiting  friends  in 
Oxford,  Pa.,  where  he  met  his  life-long  friend,  the 
Rev.  John  Armstrong,  who  had  just  returned  from  Mis- 
souri, where  he  had  spent  a  year  in  missionary  work. 
There  were  reasons  why  it  did  not  seem  to  be  his  duty  to 
return  to  Missouri.  We  invited  him  to  take  a  seat  in  our 
carriage  and  accompany  us  to  Hazleton,  in  our  Presby- 
tery, where  the  church  was  vacant. 

He  accepted  the  invitation,  and  reaching  that  place 
on  our  way,  he  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Ario  Pardee,  an 
ardent  friend  and  patron  of  the  Presbyterian  church  there, 
for  which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  he  had  built  a  house 
of  worship.  Arrangements  were  at  once  made  for  Mr. 
Armstrong  to  take  hold  of  the  general  field  of  which 
Hazleton  had  now  become  the  centre.  The  other  points 
were  Beaver  Meadow  and  Weatherly.  He  continued  in 
charge  of  this  field  for  ten  years,  laboring  with  great  dili- 
gence and  success,  enjoying  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
all  his  people. 

Mr.  A.  was  the  eldest  son  of  Mr.  Andrew  Armstrong, 
born  March  11,  1825,  at  the  home  of  his  parents,  near 
Oxford,  Pa.  John  was  from  early  childhood  a  diligent 
student  and  faithful  Sabbath  School  scholar.  While  quite 
young  he  made  a  public  profession  of  religion  and  united 
with  the  Oxford  Presbyterian  church. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  283 

He  soon  determined  to  acquire  a  liberal  education. 
To  accomplish  this  he  displayed  great  perseverance  and 
heroism.  After  leaving  the  academy  he  went  south  to 
teach  in  order  to  earn  money  to  meet  college  expenses. 
He  walked  from  his  home  in  Chester  county,  Pa. ,  nearly 
all  the  way  to  the  state  of  Georgia.  After  spending  some 
time,  with  moderate  success,  he  returned  and  entered  the 
sophomore  class  in  Lafayette  College,  where  he  spent  one 
year,  after  which  he  accompanied  the  Rev.  Dr.  George 
Junkin  to  Washington  College,  Lexington,  Va.,  and 
graduated  under  him  from  that  institution  ;  and,  in  1853, 
he  graduated  from  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 

With  more  or  less  regularity  Hazleton  had  been  vis- 
ited and  supplied  with  preaching  by  the  Rev.  Richard 
Webster,  the  Rev.  Daniel  Gaston,  Rev.  J,  G.  Moore  and 
others,  from  1836,  and  afterwards  statedly  by  the  Rev. 
David  Harbison,  the  Rev.  John  Johnson  and  the  Rev. 
John  F.  Baker,  but  there  had  not  been  the  formal  organi- 
zation of  a  church  till  1854,  about  the  time  Mr.  Baker 
left  the  field.  When  Mr.  Armstrong  entered  it  he  found 
an  organized  church  and  a  good  house  of  worship. 

The  first  elders  in  the  Hazleton  church  were  Robert 
Russell  and  Henry  A.  Mears,  who  were  good  and  efficient 
officers. 

Under  Mr.  Armstrong's  ministry  both  the  congrega- 
tion and  Sabbath  School  rapidly  increased.  The  church 
grew  mainly  by  the  reception  of  members  on  profession 
of  faith. 

The  Beaver  Meadow  church,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
became  greatly  weakened  by  the  decline  of  business  there, 
and  the  consequent  removal  of  its  members  to  other 
places  until  no  elders  were  left,  and,  in  1859,  the  mem- 


284  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

bers  were  transferred  to  Hazleton  and  Weatherly.  At 
this  latter  place  a  remarkable  work  of  grace  was  experi- 
enced in  1857,  which  resulted  in  many  conversions  and 
the  organization  of  a  church  consisting  of  sixty-one 
members. 

The  first  elders  of  this  church  were  Samuel  Harleman 
and  Esquire  Styles.  This  field  had,  in  addition  to  the 
service  given  by  the  ministers  who  radiated  from  Beaver 
Meadow  and  Hazleton,  a  part  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  W. 
Porter's  time  while  he  supplied  White  Haven  and  its 
associated  fields ;  but  at  this  time  Mr.  Armstrong  had 
charge  and  continued  to  have  till  the  fall  of  1859,  when 
the  Rev.  John  Darrock  was  installed  pastor  of  the  Weath- 
erly church.  He  was  born  in  Argyleshire,  Scotland,  in 
1829,  but  was  graduated  from  Princeton  College,  N.  J. 
He  studied  theology  in  the  seminary  of  Columbia,  S.  C, 
and  in  Princeton  Seminary.  His  ordination  and  installa- 
tion as  pastor  of  the  Weatherly  church  took  place  Novem- 
ber 15th,  1859.      He  was  well  equipped  for  his  work. 

This  charge  Mr.  Darrock  resigned  in  1861,  and  went 
to  Canada,  where  he  became  pastor  at  Lochiel ;  subse- 
quently he  returned  to  Scotland.  The  church  at  Weath- 
erly was  vacant  for  some  time  after  Mr.  Darrock  left. 
Then  it  had  stated  supplies  for  two  years.  During  a  part 
of  this  time  Mr.  Armstrong  looked  after  its  interests 
again. 

In  the  year  1866  there  came  the  Rev.  Daniel  Der- 
uelle,  another  graduate  of  Princeton  College  and  Semi- 
nary. He  was  born  August  loth,  1838,  in  Washington 
county.  Pa.,  where  true  blue  Presbyterians  are  reared. 
The  Presbytery  ordained  him  as  an  Evangelist  April  26, 
1866.       Mr.    Deruelle    continued   stated   supply    of  the 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZEKNE.  285 

Weatherly  church  as  long  as  it  constituted  a  part  of  the 
Luzerne  Presbytery,  and  the  church  grew  under  his  minis- 
trations, having  attained  a  membership  of  102  at  the  time 
of  the  reunion.  At  the  same  time  the  Sabbath  School 
numbered  180  members. 

He  was  aggressive,  extending  his  work  to  Beaver 
Meadow,  Andenried  and  Jonesville.  At  Audenried  a 
flourishing  church  was  gathered,  of  which  he  was  pastor 
for  several  years.  He  afterwards  served  several  churches 
in  New  Jersey  and  New  England  as  pastor,  or  stated  sup- 
ply ;  subsequently  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania  and  was 
stated  supply  at  South  Bethlehem  and  Redington.  He 
seems  to  have  been  an  active  and  successful  minister  of 
Christ. 

After  provision  had  been  made  for  the  Weatherly 
part  of  Mr.  Armstrong's  field  his  whole  time  was 
demanded  at  Hazleton,  and  that  church  had  a  very 
encouraging  growth,  although  he  was  never  willing  to  be 
installed  as  its  pastor.  He  and  the  writer,  then  his  near- 
est ministerial  neighbor,  had  from  the  beginning  of  their 
ministry  an  ardent  desire  to  work  in  the  great  West, 
especially  with  the  purpose  of  doing  something  to  advance 
Christian  education.  They  were  both  waiting  for  the 
opportunity  to  turn  their  faces  toward  the  setting  sun, 
notwithstanding  their  work  at  that  time  was  pleasant  and 
their  people  all  that  could  be  desired  in  kindness  and  cor- 
dial co-operation.  The  understanding  with  each  other 
was,  that  the  first  to  go  was  to  prepare  the  way  for  his 
neighbor  to  follow.  The  way  was  opened  in  1863  for  the 
writer  to  enter  upon  a  purely  missionary  work  in  the 
interior  of  Iowa.  The  next  summer,  through  his  recom- 
mendation  and   that   of  his   brother,  then   pastor  of  the 


286  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

First  Presbyterian  church  of  Iowa  City,  an  invitation  was 
extended  to  Mr.  Armstrong  to  take  charge  of  the  Musca- 
tine church,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Cedar.  The  engage- 
ment was  for  one  year,  with  a  view  to  permanent  settle- 
ment if  the  arrangement  should  be  mutually  agreeable. 
This  proved  to  be  the  case,  and  his  former  co-presbyter 
had  the  pleasure  of  delivering  the  charge  to  the  pastor  at 
his  installation  before  the  year  expired. 

Mr.  Armstrong,  before  leaving  Hazleton,  anxious  for 
the  continued  prosperity  and  usefulness  of  that  church, 
and  the  cause  of  religion  in  his  native  state,  took  pains  to 
prepare  the  way  to  have  the  pulpit  of  the  Hazleton 
church  supplied  one  Sabbath  in  the  near  future  by  the 
popular,  able  and  enterprising  young  president  of  Lafay- 
ette College,  in  the  interests  of  that  Christian  Institution. 
He  had  previously  invited  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  C.  Cattell, 
the  President  of  the  College,  to  visit  Hazleton.  And  in 
expectation  of  that  visit  set  forth  to  his  congregation, 
before  leaving,  the  wants  and  worth  of  the  college,  and 
the  importance  of  adequately  sustaining  it. 

Mr.  Ario  Pardee  was  the  man  in  Hazleton  who 
possessed  the  ability  to  generously  aid  the  institution, 
if  in  his  judgment  it  was  proper  to  do  so.  This 
enterprising,  successful  and  generous  business  man  was 
highly  esteemed  by  the  retiring  minister,  who  had  known 
him  intimately  for  ten  years,  and  was  sure  that  Mr. 
Pardee  must  be  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  reasonable 
prospects,  the  value  and  stability  of  an  institution  before 
patronizing  it.  This  prompted  what  he  had  done,  and 
the  desire  that  the  president  of  the  college,  who  could  set 
forth  the  matter  still  more  intelligently,  should  have  the 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  287 

opportunity  to  do  so.  Mr.  Pardee  had  through  all  these 
years  shown  his  minister  great  respect.  He  was  always  in 
his  place  in  his  pew  on  the  Sabbath,  and  was  accustomed 
to  say,  that  the  kind  of  weather  which  would  not  hinder 
him  from  going  to  his  office  on  a  week  day  should  not 
hinder  him  from  going  to  church  on  the  Sabbath ;  and  as 
a  further  mark  of  his  regard  for  his  pastor,  soon  after  the 
young  minister  was  married,  he  had  built  a  good  and 
attractive  parsonage  for  the  church. 

x\fter  Mr.  Armstrong's  departure,  President  Cattell 
appeared  in  Hazleton,  and  was  cordially  received.  The 
Doctor  did  not  know  that  Mr.  Armstrong  had  been  at 
work  along  his  peculiar  line,  and  the  prudent,  far-seeing 
business  man  did  not  divulge  this  fact,  but  received  the 
new,  independent,  and  doubtless  more  impassioned 
testimony  of  the  interested  advocate.  Mr.  Pardee  said 
nothing  at  first,  but  on  the  next  day  wrote  out  a  draft  for 
President  Cattell  for  $25,000,  to  aid  the  institution 
concerning  which  he  had  only  recently  known  anything. 

This  was,  up  to  this  time,  the  largest  single  gift  the 
college  had  ever  received.  Yet  it  proved  to  be  only  a 
kind  of  first  fruit,  for  it  was  followed  ere  long  by  about  a 
half  million  from  the  same  generous  giver,  whose  name  is 
now  inseparably  connected  with  Lafayette  College. 

Mr.  Armstrong  retained  his  pastorate  at  Muscatine 
ten  years,  in  which  God  blessed  his  work. 

About  the  time  Mr.  Armstrong  resigned  his  church 
at  Muscatine,  the  Synod  of  Iowa  South  resolved  to 
establish  within  its  bounds  a  Christian  school  of  a  high 
order,  and  elected  Mr.  Armstrong  its  financial  agent. 
This  movement  of  the  Synod  resulted  in  the  founding 
of  Parsons  College  at   Fairfield,  Iowa.       As  it  began  to 


255  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE, 

assume  tangibility,  the  trustees  of  a  fund  devised  by  Mr. 
Lewis  Parsons  offered  said  fund  to  the  Synod,  on 
conditions  which  were  subsequently  met.  The  Synod 
had  elected  a  Board  of  Trustees,  the  President  of  which 
has  been,  from  the  beginning,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Willis  Green 
Craig,  who  has  been  a  most  efficient  officer. 

Dr.  Armstrong,  as  the  financial  agent  and  member 
of  the  executive  committee,  devoted  his  whole  time  and 
much  of  his  means  to  furthering  this  worthy  enterprise. 
His  services  were  so  efficient  that  the  trustees  soon 
elected  him  President  of  the  new  college.  Parsons 
College  has  prospered  from  the  beginning.  Many  of  its 
graduates  have  entered  the  gospel  ministry,  and  are 
doing  good  service  in  the  home  and  foreign  field. 

Dr.  Armstrong,  as  the  President,  served  the  institu- 
tion faithfully  at  his  own  charges  four  years.  At  the 
end  of  that  time,  he  was  released  at  the  call  of  the 
Master.  He  calmly  and  hopefully  passed  away,  August 
13,  1879.  Before  his  death  he  gave  all  necessary 
directions  with  reference  to  his  business  and  his  funeral, 
requesting  his  old  co-presbyter  to  conduct  the  religious 
services  of  the  occasion.  His  mortal  remains  were,  by 
the  urgent  request  of  the  trustees  of  the  college,  laid  to 
rest  in  a  shady  corner  of  the  beautiful  college  campus. 
To  this  his  faithful  wife  had  consented  on  condition  that 
her  resting-place  should  be  there  also;  and  thither,  a  few 
months  ago,  her  inanimate  form  was  borne.  Mrs. 
Margaret  (Rowland)  Armstrong  was  born  near  Port 
Deposit,  Md.;  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  her  birth- 
place she  passed  to  the  better  land,  to  join  her  beloved 
husband.  She  loved  the  institution  which  he  had  done 
so  muchjl  to  establish,  and  provided  liberally  towards 
sustaining  it  after  her  demise. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  289 

Mr.  Armstrong's  most  intimate  friends,  the  writer 
and  his  brother,  the  Rev.  S.  M.  Osmond,  D.  D.,  a 
college  and  seminary  classmate  of  President  Armstrong, 
were  associated  with  him  and  others  in  the  management 
of  Parsons  College  in  its  earlier  career. 

As  a  preacher  Dr.  Armstrong  had  a  strong,  somewhat 
brusque  style,  often  very  forcible.  His  choice  of  words 
in  which  to  clothe  his  thoughts  was  generally  those  in 
most  common  use;  he  was,  therefore  always  understood. 
He  was  a  diligent  student  all  his  life,  and  had  a  fondness 
for  science  rather  than  classical  learning.  Centre 
College,  Ky.,  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  D.  D. 
in  1879.  His  was  an  earnest,  useful  life.  Its  early 
termination  was  greatly  deplored  by  all  who  knew  his 
worth. 

He  was  a  true,  warm-hearted  man,  and  a  devout 
Christian. 

The  Hazleton  church  was  vacant  for  some  time  after 
Dr.  Armstrong  left  for  the  West.  The  Rev.  Ellis  J. 
Newlin,  D.  D.,  from  the  Presbytery  of  Newark,  N.  J., 
finally  became  pastor,  and  was  installed  Nov.  2,  1865; 
but  the  exact  condition  of  the  church  is  not  fully 
indicated  in  the  minutes  of  the  Assembly  till  1868, 
when  we  find  some  growth  had  taken  place.  During 
Dr.  Ellis  J.  Newlin' s  pastorate,  a  new,  large  and  elegant 
sanctuary  was  erected,  equalling,  if  not  surpassing,  any 
house  of  worship  in  that  part  of  Pennsylvania.  Here 
again  there  stands  another  monument  to  Mr.  Pardee's 
liberal  patronage  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  "He  loved 
our  nation  and  hath  built  us  a  Synagogue."  Notwith- 
standing Mr.  Pardee's  liberality  to  the  Presbyterian 
church  he  did  not  dictate  its  internal  management. 


290  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

In  1871,  Dr.  Newlin  resigned,  and  returned  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Newark.  He  does  not  seem  after  this  to 
have  taken  charge  of  another  church.  He  died  Dec.  6, 
1885,  at  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.  When  Luzerne  was  merged 
into  the  Presbytery  of  Lehigh,  Hazleton  was  well 
equipped  for  aggressive  work  among  all  classes,  especially 
in  its  Sabbath  School,  which  had  been  ably  maintained 
through  the  entire  history  of  the  church. 


XXVIII. 


THE    MAUCH    CHUNK    CHURCH    AND    ITS 
LATER  PASTORS. 

THE  Rev.  John  Aspinwall  Hodge,  D.  D.,  second  pas- 
tor of  this  church,  is  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Dr. 
Hugh  L.  Hodge,  long  and  very  honorably  connected 
with  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  August  12,  1831, 
was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
1 85 1,  and  from  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  1856, 
entering  upon  his  work  at  Mauch  Chunk  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year,  not  very  long  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Webster. 
His  ordination  and  installation  took  place  April  22nd, 
1857.  He  brought  the  prestige  of  a  name  honored  through- 
out the  land  in  two  of  the  learned  professions.  He  soon 
made  an  alliance — mainly  matrimonial — with  a  family 
also  honored  in  journalism  and  scientific  invention.  The 
alliance  was  Hodge  and  Morse — Philadelphia  and  New 
York.  Doubtless  all  this  helped  to  win,  but  this  was  not 
all.  The  young  pastor  brought  intelligence  of  a  high 
order,  enthusiasm,  and  the  pastoral  spirit.  He  had  at 
his  side  a  sprightly,  interested  and  intelligent  ally  in  his 
excellent  wife,  and,  with  these  superior  advantages,  he 
found  at  Mauch  Chunk,  a  good  foundation  already  laid 
deep  and  broad,  a  people  who  had  learned  to  appreciate 
gospel  privileges,  and  to  co-operate  with  their  pastor  in 
commending  that  gospel  which   they  loved  to  those  who 


292  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

had  not  yet  learned  its  value.  Then,  too,  he  was  privi- 
leged to  occupy  the  more  commodious  and  attractive 
sanctuary,  which  had  been  in  the  mind  of  the  late  pastor 
as  a  fact  to  be  accomplished,  but  which  Mr.  Webster  only 
enjoyed  in  anticipation,  for  ere  it  was  opened  for  worship, 
he  was  worshiping  "  in  the  temple  not  made  with  hands." 

In  the  judgment  of  Dr.  J.  A.  Hodge's  people,  and 
in  that  of  his  successor,  his  work  was  successful.  Miss 
Elizabeth  Webster,  in  her  history  of  the  Mauch  Chunk 
church,  says  of  her  pastor,  speaking  of  his  honored 
lineage:  "Our  Mr.  Hodge  has,  by  a  long  and  faithful 
ministry,  by  unswerving  devotion  to  the  purity  of  our 
beloved  church  in  doctrine  and  government,  added  new 
lustre  to  that  honored  name.  Our  written  records,  as 
well  as  those  who  loved  him,  attest  to  his  faithfulness  and 
care  as  pastor;  "  and  quoting  from  Dr.  Ferrier's  historical 
sermon,  she  further  says  :  "Under  the  ministry  of  Mr. 
Hodge,  the  church  made  good  progress,  the  house  of  wor- 
ship was  completed,  congregations  increased  in  numbers, 
and,  though  there  was  no  extensive  revival,  many,  from 
time  to  time,  were  added  to  the  church.  During  the 
eight  years  of  his  ministry,  one  hundred  were  added  to 
the  communion  of  the  church."  The  next  paragraph 
of  the  history  from  which  we  are  quoting,  shows  the 
secret  of  the  then  fruitful  ministry:  "The  session 
resolved  to  hold  a  prayer-meeting  in  the  lecture  room 
every  Sabbath  morning  at  10  a.  m.,  to  beseech  God  to 
bless  His  word  in  the  conversion  of  those  who  were  out 
of  Christ.  The  pastor  also  held  a  prayer-meeting  for 
young  men." 

The  session   was   enlarged,    January,   1856,  by   the 
election  of  four  new  elders,  viz :   Charles  G.  Rockwood, 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  293 

Nathan  Fegley,  Robert  Porter  and  Joseph  Forrest.  This 
was  before  Mr.  Webster's  death.  George  W.  Smith  had, 
from  the  organization  of  the  church,  been  a  faithful  mem- 
ber of  the  session,  as  we  have  seen.  Mr.  Hodge  testifies 
to  the  efficiency  and  harmonious  co-operation  of  all  the 
members  of  the  Mauch  Chunk  session. 

They  received  the  new  pastor  with  great  cordiality, 
although  it  is  understood  that  one  of  the  new  members 
wished  to  be  thoroughly  satisfied  that  the  young  minister 
would  teach  a  sound  gospel,  and,  from  a  deep  sense  of 
duty,  timidly  visited  him  for  that  purpose,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  Hodge,  jus^"  from  Princeton  Semi- 
nary, and  had  been  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia.  Mr.  Hodge  was  delighted  with  the  con- 
scientious interest  of  the  elder,  and  gladly  invited  his 
visitor  to  examine  him  fully,  which,  with  some  little  em- 
barrassment at  first,  he  proceeded  to  do,  in  an  examination 
of  more  thoroughness  than  that  to  which  a  candidate  for 
licensure  is  usually  subjected  by  his  presbytery.  The 
interview   terminated  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  parties. 

Much  to  the  regret  of  the  pastor  and  the  congrega- 
tion. Elder  Rockwood,  who,  as  the  efficient  Sabbath 
School  superintendent,  had,  to  the  very  last,  stood  so 
closely  to  the  beloved  Webster,  removed  from  Mauch 
Chunk,  in  1857.  No  increase  of  the  session  was  imme- 
diately made,  but,  in  March,  1861,  two  new  members 
were  elected,  ordained  and  installed,  amid  the  gathering 
storms  and  political  convulsions  which  indicated  the 
coming  trials  through  which  the  nation  was  about  to  pass, 
effecting  every  community  in  our  land. 

These  brethren  had  been  chosen  as  strong,  repre- 
sentative men.      In  many  respects   they  were   dissimilar. 


294  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

They,  however,  both  loved  the  church  and  enjoyed  its 
confidence  as  well  as  that  of  the  general  community. 
They  did  good  service  in  their  respective  spheres.  They 
were  the  Hon.  A.  G.  Broadhead  and  Fisher  Hagard. 
They  greatly  helped  the  pastor,  and  their  mutual  efforts 
carried  the  church  safely  through  the  troublous  times  of 
the  civil  war. 

Before  Dr.  Hodge's  retirement,  the  session  was 
again  strengthened  by  the  election  and  induction  into  the 
eldership,  Feb.  ist,  1865,  of  Robert  S.  Cook,  William 
Patterson  and  Charles  E.  Webster,  son  of  the  first  pastor. 
Thus  the  second  generation  is  coming  to  the  front  in  at 
least  two  of  this  class.  The  elders  had,  early  in  Dr. 
Hodge's  ministry,  been  divided  into  classes,  each  class 
having  its  specific  work,  and  with  an  assigned  number  of 
families  and  individual  members  who  were  especially 
under  its  watchful  care.  This  greatly  increased  the  ef- 
ciency  of  the  session,  as  a  whole. 

Dr.  Hodge  resigned  April,  1865,  with  a  good  record. 
The  new  church  building,  in  use  but  not  finished  when  he 
came,  had  been  completed  and  paid  for.  A  house  for  the 
pastor  had  been  erected  by  the  congregation  and  was 
nearly  ready  for  occupancy.  The  membership  of  the 
church  had  nearly  doubled,  and  commendable  liberality 
toward  the  Boards  of  the  church  was  exhibited.  The 
congregation  reluctantly  concurred  with  the  request  of 
the  pastor  to  the  Presbytery  for  a  dissolution  of  the 
pastoral  relation,  passing  and  recording  the  following 
resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  by  his  urbanity  and  gentlemanly 
deportment,  by  his  Christian  zeal  and  faithfulness  as  a 
pastor,  and  his  untiring  devotion  to  the  spiritual,  as  well 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  295 

as  the  temporal  interests  of  this  church,  Mr.  Hodge  has 
greatly  endeared  himself  to  his  people,  and  will  always 
be  remembered  by  them  with  grateful  affection. 

Dr.  Hodge's  next  charge  was  that  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian church  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  in  which  he 
had  an  active  and  successful  pastorate  for  twenty-six  years. 
He  still  sustains  the  relation  of  Pastor  Emeritus  to  that 
church.  He  is  now  filling  an  important  position  as  Pro- 
fessor in  Lincoln  University,  Oxford,  Pa.  He  has  always 
been  a  good  presbyter  as  well  as  pastor.  He  has  published 
several  valuable  books.  His  work  on  "What  is  Presby- 
terian Law  ?  ' '  has  had  a  wide  circulation  and  has  been 
exceedingly  useful.  In  1873,  Princeton  College  conferred 
on  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

After  Dr.  Hodge's  resignation  in  1865  the  Mauch 
Chunk  church  was  acceptably  supplied  for  nearly  a  year 
by  the  Rev.  Charles  Jewitt  Collins,  a  son  of  Judge  Col- 
lins, with  whom  we  have  become  acquainted  as  one  of 
the  first  elders  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church.  Mr.  Collins 
might  be  regarded  as  a  son  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Williams  College,  in  which  he  was 
afterwards  a  tutor.  He  began  his  theological  course  in 
Union  Seminary,  New  York  City,  but  afterwards  spent 
three  years  in  Princeton  Seminary.  After  leaving  the 
seminary  he  became  principal  of  the  Female  Institute  at 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  subsequently  ordained  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Northumberland  and  installed  pastor  of  the 
Danville  Presbyterian  church,  which  position  he  occupied 
from  1856  to  1865.  It  was,  therefore,  after  this  pastorate 
he  supplied  the  church  in  Mauch  Chunk.  He  seems  to 
have  devoted  his  time  after  this  to  teaching,  and  has 
occupied  several    important   places  in  that  employment. 


296  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

He  is  now  a  resident  of  the  city  of  New  York.  He  was 
well  furnished  for  his  work  and  an  acceptable  preacher. 

The  third  pastor  of  the  Mauch  Chunk  church  was 
the  Rev.  Jacob  Belville,  D.  D.,who  was  installed  Novem- 
ber I,  1866.  Unlike  his  predecessors,  he  brought  to  this 
field  professional  experience  and  reputation  acquired 
elsewhere.  He  was  born  in  Hartville,  Pa.,  December 
12,  1820,  is  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  in  1839, 
and  of  the  Seminary  in  1843.  He  was  ordained  and 
installed  pastor  of  the  churches  of  Taneytown  and  New 
Windsor,  Md.,  November  22,  1844.  He  returned  to 
Pennsylvania  in  1848,  and  was,  for  a  lime,  stated  supply 
of  the  Phcenixville  church.  He  became  pastor  of  the 
Neshaminy  church  in  1849,  and  principal  of  the  academy 
in  the  same  place,  in  connection  with  his  pastoral  work, 
in  1 85 1.  He  seems  to  have  resigned  his  church  in  '57, 
and  retained  the  academy  till  1863.  He  was  then  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Holmesburg  for  two  years,  when  he  was 
unanimously  called  to  Mauch  Chunk.  He  entered  on 
this  new  pastorate  under  very  favorable  circumstances. 
The  results  expected  were  realized.  "Our  church," 
writes  Miss  Webster,  "was  richly  blessed,  temporally 
and  spiritually.  A  decided  advance  in  every  respect  was 
made.  The  congregation,  perfectly  united  and  harmon- 
ious, was  enlarged  and  able  to  undertake  more  aggressive 
work.  The  burden  of  debt  which  had  rested  on  the 
church  was  removed." 

Soon  after  Dr.  Belville  came,  a  family,  which  had  in 
former  years  gone  out  of  the  Mauch  Chunk  church, 
returned  to  its  original  church  home,  and  again  nobly 
fostered  the  church  work  in  Mauch  Chunk,  and  thus 
stimulated  and  encouraged  others  in  sustaining  their 
church  and  preparing  the  way  for  extending  its  influence. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  297 

Of  these  friends  and  others,  Dr.  Belville  writes  :  "I 
cannot  forbear  to  speak  of  two  persons  who  were  eminent 
for  their  usefulness  in  the  church  during  my  pastorate — 
Mrs.  Andrew  Douglas  and  her  brother,  John  Leisenring, 
who  was  received  by  certificate  from  Eckley  at  our  first 
communion.  There  seemed  to  be  nothing  needed  by 
the  church  or  its  pastor,  that  money  would  buy,  that  they 
were  not  ready  at  once  to  guarantee. ' '  Nor  were  they 
alone  in  this  respect.  Others  followed  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. Dr.  Belville  adds  an  illustration  :  "  When,  in 
1870,  an  effort  was  made  to  pay  off  the  debt,  then  having 
reached  the  sum  of  $6,500.00,  as  part  of  the  memorial 
fund  of  that  year,  Mr.  Leisenring  led  with  an  offer  of  one- 
fourth,  and  Mr.  Douglas,  though  not  a  member  of  the 
church  but  ardently  devoted  to  its  interests,  followed  with 
the  eighth,  Fisher  Hagard,  a  similar  sum,  and  before  we 
left  the  house  $4,000.00  was  subscribed.  Mr.  Leisenring 
was  appointed  chairman  of  a  committee  to  secure  the 
remainder,  and  before  I  returned  that  night  they  reported 
that  the  whole  amount  was  subscribed." 

During  Dr.  B.'s  pastorate  his  health  became  so  far 
impaired  that  he  could  not  keep  up  the  measure  of  pas- 
toral service  that  he  had  long  maintained.  He  had  con- 
ducted three  prayer-meetings  every  week  besides  other 
pastoral  duties.  Till  the  end  of  his  time  in  Mauch 
Chunk  he  enjoyed  the  cordial  regard  and  co-operation  of 
his  entire  charge ;  and  it  was  with  great  regret  that  his 
people  consented  to  his  removal  to  Pottsville,  where  an 
important  work  awaited  him,  for  which,  in  view  of  all  the 
circumstances,  he  was  perhaps  better  qualified  than  any 
other  man  that  might  have  entered  that  field. 

His  ministry  in  Mauch  Chunk  had  been  harmonious 


298  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

and  fruitful,  so  also  were  the  twenty-one  years  of  pastoral 
work  which  he  subsequently  performed  at  Pottsville.  He 
now  enjoys  immunity  from  the  active  duties  of  the  pastor- 
ate, but  if  his  health  would  enable  him  to  work  he  would 
still  delight  in  preaching  "the  glorious  gospel  of  the 
blessed  God,"  which  for  half  a  century  he  has  so  ably 
proclaimed  to  his  fellow  men. 

The  Mauch  Chunk  church,  although  greatly  changed 
in  its  constituency,  maintains,  under  faithful  ministers, 
its  mission  in  another  Presbytery,  into  which  it  was  trans- 
ferred with  a  membership  of  202,  and  a  Sabbath  School  of 
600  members.  Its  annual  contributions  for  the  year  in 
which  the  transference  took  place  were,  in  the  aggregate, 
;^4,22i.oo,  in  addition  to  the  amount  of  the  memorial 
fund  raised  of  $6,500.00.  At  the  same  time  it  was  well 
furnished  with  all  requisite  appliances  for  prosecuting  its 
work. 


XXIX. 
THE  CHURCH  OF  SUMMIT  HILL 

AND 

PASTORATE  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  WHITE. 

AFTER  the  Rev.  A'.  G.  Harned  resigned  the  pastorate 
of  the  Summit  Hill  church  in  1856,  it  was  without 
a  regular  pastor  for  some  months.  The  Rev.  John  White 
took  charge  in  the  fall  of  1857  and  was  regularly  installed, 
May  19th,  1858.  He  came  into  this  Presbytery  from  that 
of  Susquehanna,  having  been  stated  supply  of  the  2nd 
church  of  Wyalusing.  He  was  a  man  of  very  retiring 
habits,  but  by  no  means  wanting  in  preparation  for  his 
work,  or  the  most  conscientious  devotion  to  it.  His  ser- 
mons showed  learning  and  depth  of  piety,  and  that  they 
had  been  prepared  with  great  care.  His  people  were  fed 
with  a  pure  gospel.  His  pastoral  diligence  in  his  own 
parish  was  great.  Therefore  he  was  highly  esteemed  by 
his  people,  and  upon  them  he  spent  his  time  and  strength, 
not  without  evidence  of  success,  although  there  was  a 
falling  off  in  the  aggregate  membership  of  the  church  dur- 
ing and  shortly  after  the  civil  war.  Every  year,  however, 
additions  were  reported,  in  1867  a  large  addition,  so 
that  the  previous  loss  was  more  than  overtaken.  The 
church  also  exhibited,  through  its  entire  career,  loyalty 
to  the  general  schemes  of  benevolence. 

Mr.  White  did  not,  however,  take  a  very  active  part 


300  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

in  the  proceedings  of  Presbytery  and  Synod.  He  was 
extremely  sensitive  and  not  disposed  to  put  himself  for- 
ward. For  this  reason  he  was  not  properly  known  by  the 
members  of  the  Presbytery  or  the  churches  outside  of  his 
own.  By  these,  however,  he  was  so  well  known  and 
respected,  that  his  peculiarities  of  manner  and  adminis- 
tration were  either  not  noticed  or  overlooked.  He  was 
among  them  a  useful  and  edifying  minister  of  the  gospel. 
His  nearest  ministerial  neighbor,  Dr.  J.  A.  Hodge,  says 
of  him  :  "  He  was  a  learned  man,  wholly  devoted  to  his 
Master's  work,  much  esteemed  by  his  own  people,  and 
an  excellent  preacher  and  very  faithful  pastor.  We  under- 
stood each  other  and  remained  warm  friends."  He  was 
pastor  in  Summit  Hill  about  seventeen  years.  He  re- 
signed his  charge  in  1872,  and  subsequently  made  his 
home  at  Tamaqua,  Pa.,  where  he  died  April  21st,  1880, 
aged  75  years. 

His  daughter.  Miss  Mary  G.  White,  of  Audenried, 
Pa.,  has  kindly  furnished  additional  information  con- 
cerning her  father's  life  and  labors,  a  condensation  of 
which  is  made  necessary  by  our  limited  space  : 

"  He  was  born  at  Rutherglen,  near  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land, and  pursued  his  classical  and  theological  studies  at 
the  University  of  Glasgow.  Not  long  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  latter  course,  he  was  ordained  and  came  to 
the  United  States. 

"His  first  charge  was  at  Poundridge,  in  Westchester 
County,  N.  Y.  Afterwards,  he  was  called  to  the  church 
of  White  Plains  in  the  same  county,  at  which  time  he 
married  Miss  Eliza  Grace  of  New  York  City,  a"  lady  of 
great  beauty  and  force  of  character,  whose  companionship 
cheered  and  supported  him  through  his  whole  ministry. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  3OI 

^*  Three  children  were  born  to  them.  A  daughter, 
Mary  G.,  and  two  sons,  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  White  of 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  Dr.  W.  H.  White,  a  prominent 
physician  of  Bloomfield,  N.  J.  Mrs.  White  survived  her 
husband  twelve  years,  and  died  at  Hazleton,  Pa.,  in  1892. 

"After  leaving  White  Plains,  Mr.  W.  held  charges 
at  Seneca  and  Oxbow,  N.  Y.,  and  at  Newburg,  Spruce 
Creek  and  Mnrtinsburg,  Pa.  He  removed  to  German- 
town,  Pa.,  in  1848,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  his 
children,  and  while  there  acted  for  some  time  as  an  agent 
for  the  American  Tract  Society.  After  three  years  of  this 
work,  he  took  charge  of  the  church  in  Churchhill,  Md., 
and  in  1855,  of  the  Second  church  of  Wyalusing,  Pa. 
His  subsequent  pastorate  at  Summit  Hill  was  brought  to 
a  close  in  1872  on  account  of  his  failing  health. 

"He  was  a  fervent  and  affectionate  preacher  of  the 
gospel.  This  he  made  his  main  work  and  he  never 
stinted  time  or  effort  in  preparation.  His  early  studies 
in  logic  and  philosophy  always  afterward  colored  both  his 
thought  and  style.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  student  of  the 
classic  authors,  and  gave  help  and  stimulus  to  many  of 
his  younger  friends  in  their  classical  studies.  Twice  in 
the  course  of  his  ministry  he  accepted  opportunities  of 
Academical  teaching,  once  at  Williamsport  and  once  at 
Williamsburg,  both  in  Pennsylvania. 

"His  life  was  one  of  continuous  labor.  His 
character  was  simple,  sincere  and  independent.  When 
his  health,  which  had  been  exceptionally  good  so  many 
years,  at  last  broke  down,  he  bore  his  sickness  patiently. 
His  retirement  from  the  activity  of  the  ministry  he  loved 
so  well,  he  accepted  with  resignation.  He  died  in  the 
confidence  of  a  certain  faith." 


XXX. 


THE    WYOMING    CHURCH     AND     PRESBY- 
TERIAL  INSTITUTE. 

WHEN  the  Rev.  J.  D.  Mitchell  finally  accepted  the 
call  of  the  Scranton  church,  the  Wyoming  church 
secured  the  services  of  the  Rev.  Paul  Eugene  Stevenson, 
as  pastor.  He  was  born  in  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  Oct. 
14th,  1809,  was  graduated  from  Union  College,  N.  Y., 
and  studied  theology  in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 
He  had  spent  his  early  ministry  in  Virginia,  having  been 
ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Lexington,  and  was  pastor 
at  Staunton,  Va.,  from  1838  to  1844;  then  four  years  at 
Williamsburg,  N.  Y.,  before  being  invited  to  Wyoming, 
Pa.  Entering  on  his  pastoral  work  in  March,  1850,  he 
became,  in  1852,  Principal  of  the  Presbyterial  Institute, 
as  the  successor  of  the  Rev.  Reuben  Post  Lowrie  and  Rev. 
C.  R.  Lane,  who  had  followed  Dr.  Mitchell  from  '49  to 
'51,  and  Dr.  Lane,  from  '51  to  '52.  The  Wyoming 
church  prospered  greatly  under  Mr.  Stevenson's  ministry. 
He  was  a  man  of  ability  and  well  furnished  for  his  work, 
to  which  he  was  thoroughly  devoted.  This  church  never, 
through  the  existence  of  Luzerne  Presbytery,  enrolled  a 
greater  number  of  members  than  during  that  period. 

There  was  also  awakened  a  desire  for  a  more  suitable 
house  of  worship,  and  aid  was  secured  towards  its  erection. 
When  the  actual  work  of  construction  was  undertaken, 
the  Rev.  U.  S.  Prime,  of  Brooklyn,  father-in-law  of  Mr. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  3O3 

S.,  contributed  $600  toward  the  enterprise.  While  Mr. 
Stevenson  had  chars;e  of  the  Institute,  from  '52  to  '55, 
Mrs.  CorneHa  Prime  Stevenson,  wife  of  the  Principal, 
assisted  her  husband  in  the  Institute,  where  she  exhibited 
rare  qualities  as  a  teacher,  and  secured  the  undying 
esteem  of  her  pupils.  She  was  sister  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  S. 
I.  and  E.  D.  G.  Prime,  late  of  the  New  York  Observer. 
This  family  brought  to  Wyoming  help  and  stimulation. 
Their  departure  was  greatly  regretted.  Mr.  Stevenson 
was  afterward  engaged  in  important  educational  work  in 
Bridgeton,  Madison  and  Patterson,  N.  J.  In  the  latter 
place  he  died  March  17,  1870. 

Mr.  Stevenson's  removal  left  the  Wyoming  church 
without  a  regular  pastor,  but  the  Rev.  L.  P.  Hunt,  who 
had  been  from  the  beginning  a  deeply  interested  patron, 
friend  and  guardian  of  both  institutions,  and  who  always 
maintained  the  services  of  the  church  during  every  hiatus, 
gave  it  necessary  pastoral  care  and  service,  until  he  was 
relieved  by  the  return  of  Dr.  Mitchell,  who  entered  upon 
a  second  term  of  service  in  the  church  in  1855.  He  had 
taken  the  supervision  of  the  Institute  before  he  had  re- 
sumed the  care  of  the  church  the  second  time,  and  when 
obliged  to  give  up  the  church  on  account  of  failing  health, 
Mr.  Hunt  again  supplied  it  for  six  months. 

In  the  spring  of  1857,  a  young  man,  born  in  New 
York,  March  10,  1833,  William  L.  Moore,  a  graduate  of 
Rutgers  College,  N.  J.,  in  1854,  and  of  the  Seminary  at 
Princeton  in  1857,  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
Wyoming  church,  and  ordained  and  installed  July  21st, 
'57.  He,  however,  only  continued  in  charge  of  the 
church  till  February,  1858.  In  the  mean  time  a  new, 
beautiful  and   commodious  house   of  worship,   near   the 


304  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Institute,  was  dedicated.  The  sermon  on  the  occasion 
was  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nicholas  Murray, 

The  Wyoming  congregation  had,  in  the  early  part 
of  Mr.  Stevenson's  ministry,  erected  a  comfortable  house 
for  their  minister  on  lots  donated  by  Mr.  David  Perkins 
and  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Mary  Jane  Carpenter.  In  1858, 
for  six  months,  the  Rev.  Frederick  La  Rue  King,  a 
Princeton  man  but  a  minister  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
church,  supplied  the  Wyoming  pulpit. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Rinker  became  pastor  and  principal 
at  Wyoming  May,  1859.  Mr.  Rinker  was  one  of  Dr. 
Dorrance's  young  men,  who  entered  the  ministry  from 
the  Wilkes-Barre  church.  He  had  graduated  from  Prince- 
ton College  in  which  he  stood  high  for  scholarship.  He 
spent  two  years  in  the  Seminary  at  Princeton,  after  which 
he  taught  two  years  in  Mt.  Holly,  New  Jersey,  and  was 
ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Albany  as  an  Evangelist, 
February  15,  1853.  After  a  term  of  two  years  there  in 
mission  work  he  was  engaged  two  years  as  teacher  and 
stated  supply  at  Windsor,  N.  Y.,  and  from  1857  to  '59 
was  stated  supply  at  Burdett,  N.  Y. 

Mr.  Rinker  only  remained  in  Wyoming  till  1861, 
when  he  accepted  the  principalship  of  the  Collegiate 
Institute  of  Newton,  N.  J.  From  1863  to  1865  he  was 
chaplain  in  the  U.  S.  army.  After  the  war  he  resided  in 
Stillwater,  N.  J.,  till  1875.  He  was  pastor  in  Dickinson, 
Pa.,  1875-81,  where  he  seems  to  have  had  a  good 
measure  of  success.      He  now  resides  in  Carlisle,  Pa. 

After  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Rinker  at  Wyoming  the 
church  was  again  supplied  for  a  year  and  a  half  by  the 
pastor  of  the  Kingston  church,  the  Rev.  Dr.  H.  H. 
Welles. 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  305 

In  the  fall  of  1868  the  Rev.  A.  B.  King  was  called- 
He  was  born  in  Morristown,  N.  J.,  and  bore  the  name  of 
Albert  Barnes,  a  former  honored  pastor  in  that  city.  He 
graduated  from  Princeton  College,  and  studied  theology 
in  Union  and  Princeton  theological  seminaries.  He  was 
ordained  by  Monmouth  Presbytery  October  22,  1861, 
and  served  as  pastor  at  Oceanic,  N.  J.,  for  two  years, 
then  supplied  the  Dutch  Reformed  church  at  Gilboa, 
N.  Y. ,  in  1862-63.  H^  became  the  pastor  of  the  church 
and  principal  of  the  Institute  at  Wyoming  in  the  fall  of 
1863.  This  pastorate  continued  ten  years,  or  three  years 
beyond  the  life  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery.  His  princi- 
palship  terminated  in  1869,  when,  as  we  have  before 
seen,  the  Rev.  A.  G.  Harned  took  his  place  in  the  school. 
Mr.  King's  pastorate  was  the  longest  this  church  has  ever 
had. 

Wyoming  church  has  always  had  a  good  session  and 
able  ministrations,  and  while  the  membership  has  never 
been  large,  it  has  been  composed  of  excellent  people  and 
loyal  Presbyterians.  Reuben  P.  Lowrie  was  enrolled  as  a 
member  of  this  church  up  to  the  time  of  his  ordination. 

Another  who  spent  several  years  as  a  teacher  in  the 
Presbyterial  Institute  and  was  also  ordained  as  an  Evan- 
gelist September  17,  1864,  had  been  a  member  of  this 
church,  viz.,  the  Rev.  James  Potter  Hughes.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Princeton  College  and  Seminary.  Mr. 
Hughes,  however,  has  made  teaching  his  life-work,  and 
has  uniformly  been  regarded  as  a  successful  instructor, 
having  the  ability  to  influence  young  people  in  the  right 
direction.  Many  of  them,  under  his  cheerful  and  efficient 
management,  have  been  prepared  for  college,  for  business 
and  teaching.     He  has  taught  at  Edge  Hill,  Princeton, 


306  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Cape  May,  N.  J.,  and  Logansport,  Ind.  From  this  latter 
place  he  was  called  to  the  principalship  of  the  Bellefonte 
Academy  in  1868,  and  for  three  years  supplied  Bald 
Eagle  church  in  connection  with  school  work  ;  but  since 
then  has  confined  his  attention  to  the  Academy  and  the 
care  of  his  family  of  eight  children,  his  wife  having  been 
called  to  her  heavenly  home.  With  all  these  duties, 
cares  and  trials,  he  still  speaks  of  the  goodness  of  God  as 
sustaining  him  and  enabling  him  to  meet  his  daily  duties 
and  bear  his  trials. 


XXXI. 

THE  CENTRAL  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 
OF  POTTSVILLE  AND  ITS  PASTORS. 

AFTER  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  William  Wilson  Bon- 
nell  in  Pottsville,  covering  the  years  from  1846  to 
1848,  during  which  time  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  organ- 
ized the  Central  church  in  that  city,  as  the  result  in  part 
of  his  work  there,  we  do  not  find  that  the  services  were 
very  constant  or  regular  in  the  new  church.  Services, 
however,  were  rendered  for  longer  or  shorter  periods  by 
various  ministers,  among  them  we  may  name  the  Rev. 
J.  D.  Mitchell  and  Rev.  E.  D.  Saunders,  of  Philadelphia, 
where  he  conducted  a  school  for  boys  on  property  which 
he  afterward  gave  to  the  Presbyterian  church  as  the  site  of 
the  splendidly  equipped  hospital  which  now  occupies  it. 

During  this  long  period  of  irregular  ministrations  the 
membership  of  the  church  could  not  be  expected  to  grow, 
and  doubtless  material  which  might  have  been  gathered 
under  more  favorable  circumstances  was  scattered  or  lost. 
After  the  Rev.  Samuel  Fisher  Colt  was  elected  pastor  the 
church  only  reported  24  members;  this  was  in  1857. 

Mr.  Colt  was  born  in  Patterson,  N.  J.  He  graduated 
from  Lafayette  College  and  Princeton  Seminary,  and  was 
ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  West  Jersey  June  17,  1841. 
He  was  three  years  stated  supply  at  May's  Landing, 
N.  J.,  when  he  became  pastor  of  the  church  of  Wyalusing, 


308  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

Pa.  He  labored  successfully  there  till  1852,  when  he 
became  principal  of  the  Susquehanna  Collegiate  Institute 
at  Towanda,  Pa.  This  position  he  occupied  till  1857,  at 
the  same  time  supplying  the  Wysox  church.  Early  in 
1858,  as  pastor-elect  of  the  Central  church  of  Pottsville, 
he  came  into  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne.  He  was  a  man 
of  talent,  zealous  and  laborious  in  his  Master's  service. 
His  success  in  Pottsville  was  good,  in  view  of  the  condi- 
tion of  things  when  he  entered  the  field,  the  disturbed 
condition  of  the  country,  and  the  fact  that  he  spent  more 
than  a  year  as  chaplain  in  the  army  during  his  pastorate 
there.  The  church  had  a  membership  of  120  when  he 
left  it  in  1864  to  act  as  secretary  of  the  Eastern  Committee 
on  Freedmen,  at  the  same  time  supplying  the  church  of 
Troy  in  the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna.  After  a  time  he 
was  induced  to  take  charge  once  more  of  the  school  at 
Towanda,  which,  after  four  years,  he  again  resigned  in 
1870.  His  last  ministerial  charges  were  Wysox  and  La- 
port,  as  stated  supply.  Having  during  his  ministry  studied 
medicine,  he,  during  the  later  years  of  his  life,  practised 
the  healing  art  in  connection  with  the  supply  of  mis- 
sionary churches. 

His  was  a  busy  life,  and  not  without  special  cares, 
sorrows  and  bereavements.  He  was  twice  married  and 
had  a  large  family,  most  of  whom  it  is  understood,  with 
his  second  wife,  survived  him.  Their  loss  in  the  death  of 
the  genial  and  kind  husband  and  father  must  have  been 
very  great.  The  church,  too,  lost  an  earnest  and  faithful 
worker.  His  death  occurred  at  Wysox,  Pa. ,  December 
17,  1893. 

For  some  months  after  Mr.  Colt  left  Pottsville,  the 
Second    church   was    vacant.       The    next   pastor   was   a 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  3O9 

distinguished  man  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  William  S.  Plummer,  whose  coming  was  a  result  of 
the  terrible  national  agitation  which  had  also  determined 
the  direction  of  the  departure  of  the  last  pastor.  The  great 
conflict  did  not  to  any  great  extent  affect  the  personnel  of 
the  Presbytery;  but  sectional  agitations  bore  into  its 
bounds  important  allies  in  prosecuting  its  work.  The 
sentiments  which  moved  them  from  their  former  moorings 
and  activities  were  opposite,  but  those  which  animated 
them  in  their  work  in  the  Presbytery  were  concurrent, 
fixed  and  strong,  for  they  were  strong  men.  They  were 
respectively,  the  Rev.  Drs.  A.  A.  Hodge  and  William  S. 
Plummer.  The  latter  from  1865  to  1867  was  the  second 
pastor  of  the  Second  church  of  Pottsville.  He  was  born 
in  Green  Co.,  Pa.,  educated  in  Washington  College,  Va. , 
and  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  and  was  ordained 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Orange.  Dr.  Plummer  did  mission- 
ary work  in  southern  Virginia  and  in  North  Carolina; 
then  was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Petersburg, 
Va.;  afterwards,  successively,  he  sustained  the  same 
relation  to  the  Presbyterian  churches  in  Richmond,  Va., 
Baltimore,  Md.,  and  Allegheny,  Pa.,  from  1854  to  1862, 
filling  also,  during  the  same  time,  the  chair  of  Didactic 
Theology  in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
same  city. 

As  an  evangelical  preacher.  Dr.  Plummer  had  few 
superiors.  His  services  were  in  demand  in  conducting 
protracted  meetings,  and  were  greatly  blessed.  In  Mr. 
Moody's  most  successful  meeting  in  Philadelphia,  he 
was  greatly  aided  by  Dr.  Plummer,  not  only  by  his 
preaching,  but  especially  by  his  public  responses  to 
questions    addressed    to    him     with    reference    to    great 


310  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

scriptural  doctrines  and  vital  questions  of  Christian 
experience.  These  answers,  thus  drawn  out,  were  of 
inestimable  value  to  inquiring  souls.  Dr.  Plummer  wrote 
much  on  practical  religion,  and  was  for  many  years  an 
almost  constant  contributor  to  the  American  Messenger, 
the  American  Tract  Society's  popular  publication.  Even 
the  brief  ministry  of  such  a  man  must  have  been  exceed- 
ingly helpful  to  the  Second  church  and  the  community 
at  Pottsville. 

In  1867  he  accepted  a  professorship  in  the  Columbia 
Theological  Seminary,  S.  C,  the  duties  of  which  were 
performed  till  1880.  On  the  22nd  of  October  of  that 
year,  he  ceased  from  his  earthly  ministry,  in  Baltimore. 
Few  men  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in  this  country 
have  received  more  of  its  honors.  Before  the  separation 
of  our  southern  brethren,  he  moderated  the  General 
Assembly,  1838;  and  again,  in  1 871,  that  of  the  Southern 
Assembly.  He  was  a  Director  of  our  oldest  theological 
seminary,  and  Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  two 
Seminaries.  The  honorary  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred 
on  him  by  Washington,  Pa.,  Lafayette  and  Princeton 
Colleges;  that  of  LL.  D.  by  the  University  of  Mississippi. 

Very  soon  after  Dr.  Plummer  left  for  the  South,  the 
Rev.  Prentiss  DeVeuve  was  called  to  the  place  made 
vacant  by  his  departure.  He  was  born  in  Staten  Island, 
N.  Y.,  July  28,  1833,  was  a  graduate  of  the  College  and 
Seminary  of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  ordained  by  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  His  first  pastorate  was  at 
Ewing,  N.  J.,  and  after  seven  years  he  was  removed  to 
the  Second  church  of  Germantown.  After  spending  two 
years  with  that  church,  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  and  was  installed  pastor  of  the 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  3  I  I 

Second  church  of  Pottsville,  where  he  was  popular,  and 
seems  to  have  gained  the  entire  confidence  of  his  own 
people  as  well  as  those  of  the  First  church  in  that  city. 
His  pastorate,  however,  was  short,  though  significant. 

The  Second  church,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
was  smaller  than  the  First,  which  was  older,  and  belonged 
to  the  New  School  branch  of  the  general  church.  But 
even  at  that  time  the  question  of  reunion  was  engaging 
the  attention  of  both  branches,  and  what  occurred  under 
Dr.  De Veuve's  ministry  was  in  anticipation  of  such  a 
consummation,  and  evidently  prompted  by  the  desire  to 
accelerate  the  union  of  the  divided  church.  The  history 
of  what  took  place  in  Pottsville  with  reference  to  this 
matter  has  been  given  to  me  recently  by  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Belville,  D.  D.,  and  is  so  fully  and  frankly  set  forth  by 
that  brother's  communication,  that  I  prefer  to  allow  him 
to  present  his  statement  in  his  own  words.  He  was 
familiar  with  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  was  soon  after 
their  occurrence  brought  face  to  face  with  the  results  of 
what  proved  to  be  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  unite  the 
whole  Presbyterian  element  in  Pottsville.  His  wise  and 
pacific  management  no  doubt  did  much  to  make  those 
results  less  disastrous  than  they  otherwise  might  have 
been. 

Dr.  Belville  says:  "After  Dr.  Plummer,  Rev. 
Prentiss  De  Veuve  was  called  to  the  pastorate.  The  Rev. 
Isaac  Riley,  afterward  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  was  the  pastor  of 
the  First  church  of  Pottsville.  It  was  not  long  until  he 
was  called  to  be  co-pastor  with  his  father-in-law,  Dr. 
Parker,  of  New  York  City. 

"Before  leaving  Pottsville  he  and  Mr.  De  Veuve, 
with    leading   men    in    each    church,   believing    that   the 


312  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

interests  of  Presbyterian  ism,  and  the  cause  of  Christ  in 
Pottsville  would  be  promoted  by  a  union  of  the  two 
churches,  and  that  orthodoxy  would  be  safe  in  either  Old 
or  New  School  connection,  arranged  a  plan  of  union 
between  the  two  churches  which  was  adopted  by  both. 
It  was  agreed  that  the  members  of  the  two  churches 
should  all  take  their  certificates  to  a  new  church  to  be 
organized  by  the  Third  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia, 
(N.  S.)  to  which  the  First  church  then  belonged;  that 
they  should  be  organized  under  the  charter  of  the  First 
church  and  should  occupy  the  property  of  the  First 
church ;  that  Mr.  De Veuve,  then  pastor  of  the  Second 
church,  should  be  the  pastor  of  the  new  church,  and  that 
Solomon  Foster,  and  Hiram  Parker,  then  elders  of  the 
First  church,  with  Thomas  Russell  and  Henry  Strauch, 
then  elders  of  the  Second  church,  should  constitute  the 
session  of  the  new  church.  The  pastor  was  always  to  be 
chosen  from  the  Old  School  branch,  and  the  property  of 
the  Second  church  was  to  be  sold,  and  the  proceeds  held 
as  a  nucleus  of  a  fund  for  the  erection  of  a  larger  new 
church  building.  All  this  having  been  arranged,  and  in 
accordance  with  it  the  certificates  having  been  given,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  DeVeuve  appeared  in  Presbytery  at  Kingston  in 
April,  1868,  and  informed  us  of  the  facts,  and  asked  that 
Presbytery  would  acquiesce,  by  granting  him  dismission 
to  the  Third  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  and  striking  the 
name  of  the  Second  church  of  Pottsville  from  the  roll. 

"  This  was  done  by  a  vote  of  the  Presbytery  almost  if 
not  entirely  unanimous.  It  was  done  very  cordially  by 
those  of  us  who  were  earnest  in  our  desire  for  the  reunion 
of  the  Old  and  New  School,  which  was  then  in  progress, 
while  those  who  were  not  favorable  to  the  reunion,  if  they 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE,  3I3 

rlid  not  oppose,  assented,  though  very  reluctantly,  to  merg- 
ing the  two  Pottsville  churches,  inasmuch  as  it  seemed  an 
accomplished  fact.  The  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  having 
taken  this  action,  to  which  I  have  referred,  the  certificates 
were  presented  to  the  Third  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia, 
with  request  for  organization,  under  the  plan  of  union 
agreed  upon.  Accordingly  the  new  church,  called  the 
First  church  of  Pottsville,  was  organized,  and  a  committee 
of  Presbytery  was  appointed  to  install  the  pastor  at  an 
early  date.  The  members  of  the  First  church  all  gave  up 
their  pews.  Then  pews  were  selected  by  the  alternate 
drawing  from  each  church,  and  so  the  new  church  was 
housed  in  the  building  of  the  First,  with  the  idea  that  it 
would  soon  be  displaced  by  a  new  and  commodious  struc- 
ture for  which  the  nucleus  of  a  fund  had  been  already 
secured,  in  the  sum  of  $8,000,  accruing  from  the  sale  of 
the  old  Second  church  property.  The  two  churches,  thus 
merged  into  one,  worshiped  together  as  such  for  several 
months.  The  two  sessions  of  the  new  organization  met 
frequently  as  the  session  of  the  new  organization,  but 
when  the  time  came  for  the  installation  of  the  first  pastor, 
Mr.  De  Veuve,  after  conference  with  him  and  with  the 
elders  and  people,  the  committee  appointed  for  the  pur- 
pose decided  that  ' '  the  way  was  not  clear, ' '  and  the 
installation  did  not  take  place. 

"  Mr.  De  Veuve  withdrew  and  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Schenck, 
then  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church,  having  united  with 
the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  Old  School,  was  called, 
accepted  and  was  installed  ;  nevertheless  a  very  consider- 
able proportion  of  those  who  had  belonged  to  the  Second 
church,  with  two  elders,  having  become  dissatisfied  with 
the  new  organization,  withdrew  from  it,  secured  again  the 


314  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

property,  which  had  been  sold,  and  in  the  fall  of  1868 
applied  to  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  to  be  reorganized 
again  as  the  Second  church  of  Pottsville.  This  was  con- 
tested till  the  fall  of  1869,  when  it  was  granted  on  the 
ground  that,  inasmuch  as  the  First  church  had  belonged  to 
another  body,  the  action  of  the  session  of  the  Second 
church  in  giving  certificates  to  all  its  members  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  with  it  a  new  church  in  that  body, 
was  unconstitutional,  and  therefore  null  and  void.  One 
of  the  elders  of  the  Second  church,  Thomas  M.  Russell, 
had,  on  the  organization  of  the  new  First  church,  been 
appointed  its  treasurer,  and  as  such  had  possession  of  the 
funds  accruing  from  the  sale  of  the  Second  church  prop- 
erty. For  this  a  suit  was  instituted  by  the  trustees  of  the 
First  church,  which  was  decided  in  their  favor  in  the 
Schuylkill  county  court,  but  was  appealed. 

"Very  soon  after  the  reunion  of  the  Old  and  New 
School  bodies  was  effected,  and  the  two  Pottsville  churches 
came  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lehigh.  Efforts 
were  at  once  made  for  an  amicable  settlement  of  difficul- 
ties, as  the  result  of  which  the  funds  in  question  were 
yielded  by  the  First  church  to  the  Second.  Hostile  feel- 
ings gradually  subsided,  and  the  relations  between  the 
two  churches  are  now  as  j^leasant  as  could  be  expected  in 
view  of  the  residue  of  human  nature  always  to  be  found  in 
the  body  of  the  church  militant. 

"I  became  pastor  of  the  First  church  on  May  ist, 
1873,  and  continued  till  October  ist,  1894.  I  can  hon- 
estly say  that  during  that  period  I  did  all  that  lay  in  my 
power  to  promote  harmony  and  concert  in  good  doing. 
In  the  mean  time  Pottsville  has  grown  and  promises,  in 
the  not   distant   future,    much   larger  growth,    and  there 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  315 

seems  better  reason  for  two  Presbyterian  churches  than 
ever  before." 

The  Rev.  George  W.  Smiley,  D.  D.,  was  the  iirst 
pastor  after  the  reorganization  of  the  Second  church  of 
Pottsville.  He  was  received  from  the  Congregational 
body,  and  had  been  pastor  of  the  Second  Congregational 
church  of  Philadelphia.  He  came  into  the  Luzerne  Pres- 
bytery in  March  of  the  year  during  which  it  was  con- 
nected with  the  Lehigh  Presbytery,  and  continued  pastor 
of  the  Second  church  of  Pottsville  till  he  was  called  to 
higher  service,  June  29th,  1883,  in  the  64th  year  of  his 
age.  In  view  of  the  condition  of  things  when  he  entered 
on  his  work  he  seems  to  have  had  a  successful  ministry. 


XXXII. 
CONYNGHAM  VALLEY  CHURCH. 

THE  part  of  this  valley  in  which  the  Presbyterians  had 
their  principal  place  of  worship,  was  in  Sugar  Loaf 
Township,  at  Seybertsville.  The  whole  valley  had  been 
pre-empted  by  Mr.  Webster,  and  occupied,  as  we  have 
seen,  by  Rev.  Daniel  Gaston,  the  Rev.  Darwin  Cook,  and 
others ;    but  later  and  longer  by  the  Rev.   John  Johnson. 

Although  never  installed  as  pastor,  as  Mr.  Gaston 
had  been,  Mr.  Johnson's  ministry  was  remarkable,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  he  had  received  no  special  training  for  it. 
A  tailor  by  trade,  and  a  member  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gray's 
church  in  Easton,  he  had  shown  considerable  zeal  as  a 
lay  worker,  and,  in  connection  with  some  of  the  pious 
students  at  Lafayette  College,  had  conducted  religious 
services  in  the  more  destitute  communities  of  the  suburbs 
of  Easton,  and  with  such  success  as  to  call  the  attention 
of  ministers  and  other  Christians  to  his  work. 

On  account  of  the  difficulty  of  securing  and  sustain- 
ing a  minister  in  Conyngham  Valley,  Mr.  Johnson  was 
invited  to  undertake  evangelistic  work  there.  The 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne  was  so  well  pleased  with  his 
services  and  success,  that  he  was  given  a  license  to  preach 
about  1850,  and  subsequently,  without  the  usual  exami- 
nations, he  was  ordained  to  the  full  work  of  the  ministry, 
this  being  regarded  an  extraordinary  case.  We  have  seen 
him  in  the  pulpit  with   Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  assisting  in 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  317 

performing  the  highest  ministerial  functions,  and  doing 
his  part  with,  perhaps,  more  freedom  and  unction  than  if 
he  were  able  to  realize  the  trying  ordeals  through  which 
others  had  passed  before  reaching  the  position  which  he 
was  occupying.  He  preached  with  ease  and  sometimes 
with  much  force.  His  pastorate  proved  to  be  one  of  the 
longest  in  the  Presbytery,  being  about  twenty  years, 
through  the  whole  of  which  he  retained  the  affection  of 
his  people,  and  that  of  the  Presbytery.  He  was  fond  of 
reading,  especially  sermons,  and  he  had  an  excellent 
memory,  A  brick  house  of  worship  was  erected  at  Sey- 
bertsville,  and  many  members  were  received  from  time  to 
time,  but  stated  worship  was  not  continued  at  Drums,  in 
Butler  Township,  and  no  church  was  organized  there  ;  a 
part,  however,  of  the  Presbyterian  element,  found  a 
church  home  at  Seybertsville.  Mr.  Johnson  helped  to 
hold  the  ground  for  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Hazleton 
before  the  organization  of  a  church  in  that  town,  and  he 
seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  instruments  used  in  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  organization  of  the  Upper  Lehigh 
church.  In  writing  the  history  of  Luzerne  Presbytery,  it 
is  proper  to  say  that  the  country  churches,  as  the  cities 
within  its  bounds  grew,  were  greatly  depleted  by  the 
drafts  made  from  their  membership  by  the  business 
centres,  and  it  became  difficult  for  these  country  congre- 
gations to  hold  their  own.  This  was  true  of  Conyngham 
Valley,  as  of  other  places.  Mr.  Johnson,  in  187 1,  left 
his  charge  in  Luzerne  for  one  in  Northumberland  Pres- 
bytery, which  he  held  for  ten  years.  He  then  returned 
to  Easton,  where  he  died  May   ist,  1890,  aged   78  years. 


XXXIII. 
THE  CHURCH  OF  NANTICOKE 

AND 

THE  REV.  JACOB  WEIDMAN. 

THE  Rev.  Jacob  Weidman  came  into  the  Presbytery 
in  the  summer  of  1859.  He  had  just  graduated 
from  Princeton  Seminary.  He  had  taken  his  degree  of 
A.  B.  in  Pennsylvania  College,  Gettysburg,  before  he 
was  nineteen  years  old,  having  been  born  in  Lebanon, 
Pa.,  Dec.  20,  1837  ;  and  now  at  his  twenty-second  year, 
he  is  found  taking  hold  of  his  life-work  with  us.  He 
had  labored  as  stated  supply  for  a  short  time  at  Tamaqua, 
before  coming  to  Nanticoke.  The  field  to  which  he  was 
then  introduced  has  already  been  before  us. 

We  have  seen  that  that  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna was  originally  settled  by  a  different  class  of 
people  from  those  who  had  taken  possession  of  the  land 
north  of  Hanover  and  Newport  Townships,  in  Luzerne 
County,  Pa.  But  Dr.  Dorrance  speaks  of  them  as  ex- 
cellent people,  many  of  them  staunch  Presbyterians.  The 
first  church  organized  on  this  ground,  however,  was 
German  Reformed.  While  for  a  time  it  was  prosperous, 
unfortunate  occurrences  marred  its  prospects,  and  the 
congregation  and  its  house  of  worship  fell  into  decay. 

The  pastors  of  Wilkes-Barre,  especially  Mr.  Gilder- 
sleeve,  gave  some  attention  to  this  community,  and  after  he 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  3I9 

resigned  his  pastorate,  he  did  special  Missionary  work  for 
a  time  in  Hanover  and  Newport  townships,  and  with  his 
successor,  Dr.  Nicholas  Murray,  organized  the  Presby- 
terians in  the  general  community  and  without  church 
connections,  together  with  a  number  then  dismissed  from 
the  Wilkes-Barre  church,  into  "The  church  of  Hanover 
and  Newport."  This  organization  was  effected  Nov.  27, 
1829.  John  Schleppy,  Anderson  Dana  and  Henry  Styes, 
were  the  first  elders. 

Mr.  Gildersleeve  did  not  continue  long  with  the 
new  organization,  and  after  he  retired  services  were  very 
irregularly  held.  They  were  afforded,  for  the  most  part, 
by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Rhodes,  of  Northmoreland,  Corss 
and  Snowden,  of  Kingston.  After  the  Rev.  T.  P.  Hunt 
came  to  Wyoming  Valley,  he  was  frequently  on  the 
ground,  and  then  also  Darwin  Cook,  with  whom  the 
people  of  Nanticoke  where  anxious  to  make  a  permanent 
engagement. 

We  find  Presbytery  sending  a  committee  in  April, 
1 860,  to  look  into  the  condition  of  the  field  to  which  Mr. 
Weidman  had  been  sent  the  previous  year.  This  com- 
mittee consisted  of  Rev.  Dr.  Dorrance,  Mr.  Hunt  and 
Elder  Collins.  What  they  found,  or  what  they  did  not 
find,  led  to  the  unanimous  conclusion  that  it  was  nec- 
essary to  reorganize  the  church.  This  they  proceeded  to 
do.  The  new  body,  included  the  members  of  the 
former  church  still  on  the  ground,  and  five  members 
from  the  Wilkes-Barre  church,  with  three  other  persons 
on  profession  of  their  faith.  John  Fairchild  was  elected, 
ordained  and  installed  elder.  The  name  of  the  church 
was  at  this  time  changed  to  that  of  Nanticoke. 

We  see  in  these  transactions  that  something  had  been 


320  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

done  already  by  the  young  Missionary.  The  next  year 
the  congregation  took  measures  to  provide  a  sanctuary. 

It  was  completed  in  1863,  in  troublous  times.  Thus 
stakes  were  being  driven  ;  preparation  for  effective  and 
permanent  work  is  secured,  but,  unhappily,  we  find,  after 
all  this,  Nanticoke  church  is  reported  vacant  for  several 
years  after  Mr.  Weidman's  retirement  in  1864.  Hence, 
of  course,  the  Nanticoke  congregation  does  not  rei>ort 
much  progress  for  some  time. 

Mr.  Weidman  does  not  seem  to  have  had  a  special 
charge  for  a  time  after  leaving  Nanticoke.  In  1867  he 
became  pastor  of  the  church  of  Bristol,  Pa.,  where  he  re- 
mained till  1873.  H^  ^^^  then  pastor  of  the  Brainard 
church,  Easton,  Pa.,  till  1880.  Afterwards  he  was  stated 
supply  of  the  South  Bethlehem  church  for  five  years. 
He  then  resided  for  two  years  in  Pottsville,  Pa.,  laboring 
as  an  evangelist.  He  was,  during  the  years  1887-88,  in 
charge  of  the  White  Haven  church.  His  last  pastorate 
was  at  Clifton  Heights,  Pa.  Mr.  Weidman  was  regarded 
as  a  man  of  sound  judgment,  well  informed  and  devoted 
to  his  work — a  useful  aa  honored  minister  of  Christ.* 

The  next  regular  minister  at  Nanticoke  was  the  Rev. 
William  James  Day.  He  began  his  ministerial  career 
July,  1865.  His  labors,  however,  were  not  confined  to 
the  field  which  had  engaged  the  attention  of  Mr.  Weid- 
man, but  included  Ashley,  nearer  Wilkes-Barre.  Mr. 
Day  came  directly  from  Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 
in  which  he  had  taken  the  full  course.  He  was  originally 
from  Canada,  born  February  20th,  1840. 

He  entered  upon  his  work  with  zeal,  but,  for  some 
time,    was   not   encouraged   by  a  great    increase   in    the 

*Mr.  Weidman  was  for  some  time,  1S66-7,  assistant  minister  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Backus,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  cliurch,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  32  I 

church  at  Nanticoke.  He  resided  in  Ashley,  to  which 
place  it  is  natural  to  suppose  the  greater  part  of  his  pas- 
toral labor  would  be  given.  Nanticoke,  however,  soon 
after  the  reunion  was  blessed  with  a  revival  which  resulted 
in  more  than  doubling  its  membership. 

When  Mr.  Day  came  into  the  Presbytery  in  1865, 
the  Ashley  or  Coalville  church  had  not  been  organized. 
The  village  being  a  suburb  of  Wilkes-Barre  it  was  regarded 
as  within  the  bounds  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church.  It  had 
been  a  preaching  place  from  1834,  and  had  a  Sabbath 
School  conducted  by  members  of  that  church.  W.  C. 
Gildersleeve  was  its  superintendent  for  many  years  ;  and, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  there  was  a  house  of  worship 
erected  there  as  early  as  1844.  Thus  there  had  been  a 
preparatory  work  done  on  that  part  of  Mr.  Day's  field, 
which  had  not  been  equalled  at  Nanticoke.  The  growth 
of  population,  too,  had  been  of  late  much  more  rapid. 
The  formal  organization,  however,  did  not  take  place  till 
January,  1866,  some  six  months  after  Mr.  Day's  work 
began.  But  Dr.  Dorrance  especially,  Mr.  Hunt  and  Mr. 
Weidman,  had  given  much  attention  to  this  coal  town,  in 
view  of  its  increasing  population.  The  demand  for  a  sep- 
arate church  had  become  imperative,  in  order  properly  to 
provide  for  Ashley  and  to  relieve  Wilkes-Barre,  where  the 
parent  church  was  constantly  needing  and  absorbing  more 
and  more  care  and  labor. 

At  first  the  organization  consisted  of  but  17  mem- 
bers, with  Daniel  Frederick,  Robert  H.  Johnson  and  Rob- 
ert Brown  as  elders.  The  Baltimore  Coal  Company  had 
donated  suitable  lots  for  a  new  and  larger  house  of 
worship,  which  was  constructed  at  the  cost  of  ^8,500,  and 
dedicated    February,    1869.     The    old   church,   too,   was 


322  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

remodeled  and  made  useful  for  Sabbath  School  purposes. 
When  the  Luzerne  Presbytery  was  merged  into  the  Presby- 
tery of  Lackawanna,  Ashville,  or  Coalville,  church 
reported  85  members  and  120  Sabbath  School  members. 
Mr.  Day  was  formally  installed  pastor  at  Ashley  in  1873. 
He  was  called  from  his  prosperous  work  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river  to  the  Plymouth  church,  on  the  west  side,  in 
1889. 

Connected  with  the  churches  south  of  Wilkes-Barre 
we  must  notice  the  Shickshinny  church,  in  Union  town- 
ship, on  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna.  The  first 
settlers  in  this  township  were  from  Connecticut,  and  were 
among  those  who  were  driven  from  their  homes  by  the 
battle  of  Wyoming.  There  were  also  settlers  who  came 
in  soon  afterwards,  and  who  secured  their  claims  from  the 
proprietors  of  Pennsylvania,  which  fact  may  have  resulted 
in  destroying  harmony  and  hindering  the  co-operation  nec- 
essary to  the  establishing  of  the  institutions  of  religion. 
However  that  may  have  been,  there  was  no  Presbyterian 
church  organized  at  Shickshinny  till  1864,  or  during  Mr. 
Weidman's  mission.  The  information  as  to  its  constitu- 
tion and  subsequent  growth  are  not  at  hand.  The  name 
of  the  organization  appears  some  times  in  the  rei)orts  of 
the  Presbytery,  then  again  it  is  omitted  for  a  time.  Some 
time  after  Mr.  Weidman  left  the  general  field,  Solomon 
Clarke  McElroy  came  to  Shickshinny  as  stated  supply  of 
the  church,  in  connection  with  teaching.  He  was  a 
Canadian  by  birth,  but  had  graduated  from  Union  Col- 
lege, N.  Y. ,  and  Princeton  Seminary.  Our  Presbytery 
ordained  him  as  an  Evangelist  in  1865.  He  continued 
till  1867. 

The  Rev.  James  S.  Ferguson,  who  had  been  received 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  323 

from  the  Methodist  church  and  seems  to  have  resided  for 
some  years  in  Shickshinny,  ministered  to  our  church 
or  adherents  there  for  a  time  ;  also  at  Harvey's  Lake, 
where  Messrs.  George  Hollenback  and  John  Urquhart  had 
built  a  comfortable  house  of  worship  and  presented  it  to 
the  Presbyterians. 

After  the  reunion  we  find  a  sanctuary  in  187 1,  cost- 
ing between  four  and  five  thousand  dollars.  The  same 
year  a  pastor  is  installed,  which  implies  that  the  church 
had  assumed  an  aggressive  attitude,  and  these  movements 
were  evidently  kept  up  under  their  chosen  leader,  the 
Rev.  William  Bradford  Darrach,  from  i87itoi876.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  we  see  a  church  of  47  members  and  a 
Sabbath  School  of  no. 


XXXIV. 

THE    HARVEY'S   LAKE    OR    THE   LEHMAN 
CHURCH. 

THIS  organization  was  constituted  by  the  Presbytery 
December  23,  i860,  with  15  members,  and  set  in 
the  report  opposite  the  name  of  the  Rev.  James  S.  Fergu- 
son as  its  first  minister.  Until  after  the  demise  of  the 
Presbytery  it  was  reported  from  year  to  year,  as  the  Har- 
vey's Lake  church,  and  is  supposed  to  have  occupied  the 
house  of  worship  erected  by  Messrs.  Hollenback  and 
Urquhart.  There  seems,  however,  to  have  been  no 
growth  at  the  lake,  and  subsequently  the  place  [of  worship 
most  used  was  in  Lehman  township,  where  the  Kingston 
church  had  long  had  some  members,  and  looked  after 
them.  There  another  house  of  worship  was  erected,  as 
more  central  for  the  general  region. 

Mr.  Ferguson's  term  of  service  closed  in  1863.  His 
name,  however,  appears  in  the  minutes  of  the  General 
Assembly  till  1870.  Since  that  time  we  have  been  unable 
to  trace  him.  At  the  time  he  left  the  church  20  members 
were  reported,  and  one  or  two  small  contributions  to  our 
boards. 

After  Mr.  Ferguson  the  Rev.  Charles  Edwin  Van 
Allen,  just  from  Princeton  Seminary,  supplied  the  church 
for  a  short  time,  but  he  never  came  into  the  Presbytery. 
The  Rev.  A.  Harned,  while  in  charge  of  the  Presbyterial 
Institute,  gave  it  some  services  during  1868  and  1869.  In 
1870  the  church  only  reported  17  members. 


XXXV. 

THE    WILKES -BARRE    CHURCH    AND    ITS 
LATER  PASTORS. 

WE  left  this  mother  church  of  the  Presbytery  in 
1 86 1.  It  was  a  time  of  general  gloom  in  our 
land,  and  to  the  church  and  Presbytery  a  time  of  sore 
bereavement ;  but  even  then,  when  turning  our  faces 
from  this  church,  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  it  was  an  institution  firmly  established,  in  the  care  of 
loyal,  intelligent  guardians  who  would  see  that  the 
important  place  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  its  beloved 
pastor  would  be  suitably  filled.  And  as  we  moved  from 
this,  the  original  centre,  we  met  everywhere  within  the 
circle  of  its  Presbyterial  influence  the  evidences  of  its 
ecclesiastical  vitality  and  fruitfulness.  If  we  have  been 
observant  and  thoughtful,  we  return  to  the  mother  church 
with  increased  admiration  for  her  past  work,  and  with 
larger  expectations  of  precious  fruits  from  her  later  agencies 
and  operations. 

The  pulpit  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church  became  vacant 
on  the  1 8th  of  April,  1861,  the  date  of  Dr.  Dorrance's 
death.  It  was  filled  in  less  than  three  months.  The 
changes  caused  by  the  civil  war  had  just  brought  again  to 
the  north  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge  from  Virginia;  and 
the  Wilkes-Barre  church  at  once  invited  him  to  its  vacant 
pulpit.     Archibald  Alexander  Hodge  had  always  breathed 


326  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

a  spiritual  atmosphere;  had  early  acquired  the  habit  of 
close  study,  and  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  teachers  of  ability, 
in  addition  to  his  superior  home  culture.  He  was  born 
in  Princeton,  N.  J.,  July,  1823,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Charles  and  Mrs.  Sarah  (Bache)  Hodge.  In 
addition  to  private  instruction,  he  was  graduated  from 
the  College  in  his  native  town,  and  was,  for  a  time,  a 
tutor  in  the  same.  After  his  subsequent  graduation  from 
the  Theological  Seminary  he  took  a  post  graduate  course. 
During  this  last  course,  he  was  a  very  close  student,  as 
the  writer  knows,  having  occupied  an  adjoining  room  in 
the  Seminary. 

This  distinguished  man  has  been  so  prominently 
before  the  church  in  other  important  relations  and 
positions  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary,  in  giving  a  history 
of  Luzerne  Presbytery,  to  dwell  on  his  characteristics  as  a 
man,  and  a  very  eminent  minister,  teacher  and  writer  in 
our  church.  He  was  the  son  and  successor  of  one  of  the 
greatest  theologians  of  the  present  century.  His  own 
intellectual  ability  and  attainments  are  proved  by  his 
writings.  His  devotion  to  Christianity  and  its  divine 
Author  is  shown  by  his  entering  on  the  foreign  mission- 
ary work  in  India,  and  by  his  subsequent  tireless  labors  as 
a  preacher,  pastor,  theological  professor,  original  thinker 
and  defender  of  the  faith.  When,  after  the  failure  of  his 
wife's  health,  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  his  native 
land  he  established  a  reputation  as  a  successful  pastor  in 
several  states,  in  all  these  pastorates  gaining  the  love  and 
confidence  of  his  people.  He  occupied  the  highest  chair, 
that  of  Theology,  in  two  of  our  most  prominent  seminaries, 
the  Western  and  Princeton.  His  popular  lectures  on 
theological    subjects    greatly    added    to    his     fame    and 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  327 

extended  his  usefulness.  He  had  more  idiosyncrasies 
than  his  amiable  and  gifted  father,  but  not  less  theological 
acumen,  and  a  more  forcible  way  of  popularizing  his 
teachings.  His  "Outlines  of  Theology"  has  been 
translated  into  various  languages  and  is  widely  used  both 
at  home  and  abroad. 

The  removal  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge  from  Wilkes-Barre 
to  fill  a  professorship  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Allegheny  was  greatly  deplored  by  his  congregation, 
which  was  capable  of  appreciating  his  rich  and  instructive 
sermons. 

He  was  about  three  years  connected  with  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne,  leaving  in  1864.  After  teaching 
didactic  theology  and  at  the  same  time  serving  two 
churches,  viz.,  the  First  church  at  Pittsburg,  1865;  then 
the  North  church  of  Alleghany,  1866  and  '67,  he  was 
elected  Associate  Professor  with  his  father  in  Princeton 
Seminary  in  1877.  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Charles 
Hodge,  June  1878,  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge  occupied  the  chair 
of  Systematic  Theology  alone  till  his  death,  which  took 
place  Nov.  11,  1886,  in  the  height  of  his  usefulness,  and 
was  regarded  as  a  public  calamity. 

He  was  married  twice.  His  first  wife  was  Miss 
Elizabeth  Bent,  of  Winchester,  Va.,  whom  he  married 
June  17,  1847,  just  before  embarking  for  India.  She  was 
the  mother  of  his  two  daughters.  Mrs.  Hodge  died  in 
Allegheny,  Sept.  28,  1868.  He  afterward  married  Mrs. 
Margaret  (McLaren)  Wood,  who,  with  the  daughters 
above  mentioned,  survived  the  husband  and  father. 

His  Alma  Mater  gave  him  the  degree  of  D.  D.  in 
1862,  and  he  received  the  degree  of  L.L.  D.  from 
Woorster  University  in  1876. 


328  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

Soon  after  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge  was  called  to  Allegheny, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Bayard  Dod  became  pastor  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  church  in  1864.  Mr.  Dod  was  born  in 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  Dec.  2,  1838,  and  was  the  son  of  the 
late  Albert  Baldwin  Dod,  D.  D.,  who  was  Professor  of 
Mathematics,  and  lecturer  on  Political  Economy  and 
Architecture  in  Princeton  College.  Dr.  Dod  was  one  of 
the  most  popular  professors  and  accomplished  scholars  of 
our  country,  in  his  generation.  His  brilliant  career 
terminated  when  he  was  only  48  years  old.  The  writer 
well  remembers  the  deep  gloom  and  sorrow  which  were 
exhibited  in  Princeton,  when,  in  1845,  the  early  and 
unexpected  death  of  Prof.  Dod  was  announced. 

The  new  pastor,  coming  in  1864,  brought  with  him 
very  similar  antecedents  to  those  of  the  late  pastor  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  church.  He  too  bore  the  prestige  of  an 
honored  name  as  well  as  the  testimonials  of  the  Princeton 
Institutions,  the  atmosphere  of  which  he  had  so  early 
and  long  breathed.  He  had  enjoyed  the  advantages  of 
foreign  travel  and  study  abroad.  He  had  been  ordained 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Hudson  and  installed  pastor  of  the 
Monticello  church,  in  June,  1862,  which  he  resigned  in 
order  to  accept  the  call  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church, 
where  he  was  installed  in  1864. 

Mr.  Dod  was  a  bright,  active  young  man,  a  forcible 
speaker,  a  clear  and  logical  reasoner,  a  fluent  writer,  and 
earnest  and  effective  in  his  work  as  a  pastor.  But  his 
work  at  Wilkes-Barre  was  cut  short  by  the  death  of  Mr. 
Edwin  A.  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  by  whose  will 
Mr.  Dod  was  made  one  of  the  executors  of  his  large 
estate,  and  the  active  and  responsible  agent  in  carrying 
out  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Stevens  in  regard  to  the  "  Institute 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  329 

of  Technology  "  provided  for  by  him.  It  was  a  position  of 
trust  given  him  by  his  sister's  husband  which  he  could 
not  see  the  way  clear  to  decline  ;  but  he  could  not  take  it 
and  continue  his  work  as  the  pastor  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  asked  the  Presbytery 
to  dissolve  his  pastoral  relation.  This  was  done  in  1868. 
The  planning  for  the  building  of  the  Institute  and  the 
arranging  for  the  different  departments  of  educational 
work  that  were  to  be  conducted  in  it,  devolved  largely  on 
Mr.  Dod,  and  for  this  work  he  was  eminently  fitted,  as 
results  have  shown. 

The  last  pastor  installed  over  the  First  Presbyterian 
church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  is  the  younger  brother  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  k.  A.  Hodge,  who  had  so  recently  filled  the 
same  position,  and  who  was  the  eldest  son  of  the 
renowned  and  beloved  Princeton  Theologian,  to  whose 
distinguished  character  and  services  we  have  already  paid 
the  tribute  of  reverence  and  praise  which  we  could  not 
but  render  with  the  necessary  mention  of  his  honored 
name.  Coming  as  Francis  Blanchard  Hodge  did,  we 
scarcely  need  to  speak  of  his  antecedents.  Of  course  he 
bore  with  him  the  sanction  of  all  the  Princeton  Institu- 
tions, which  he  entered  early  and  with  which  he  lingered 
after  graduating  from  the  Seminary.  He  finally  left  that 
institution  in  1863.  His  first  pastoral  charge  was  the  old 
and  important  church  of  Oxford,  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  where 
he  was  ordained.  May  9th,  1863,  by  the  Presbytery  of 
New  Castle. 

Mr.  Hodge's  pastorate  at  Oxford  continued  till  he 
was  called  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1869.  In  Oxford  he  had 
succeeded  his  brother,  Caspar  Wistar  Hodge,  who  was 
greatly  loved  by  the  Oxford   people,  as  he  deserved  to  be 


330  PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE. 

for  his  faithful  ministrations,  ample  attainments  and 
loving  care  of  his  flock.  The  Rev.  F.  B.  Hodge  filled 
his  brother's  place  well  in  Oxford,  and  held  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  The  church  prospered  under  his  ministry, 
and  reluctantly  yielded  him  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he 
entered  upon  what  has  proved  to  be  a  long  pastorate. 
His  entrance  upon  the  Wilkes-Barre  charge  was  during 
the  last  year  of  the  existence  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery, 
and  while  it  is  not  our  province  to  follow  him  in  his 
work,  it  is  pleasant  to  record  the  testimony  of  two  of  his 
co-presbyters,  Drs.  Parke  and  Logan,  who  agree  in  saying 
that  his  success  has  by  no  means  fallen  behind  that  of  any 
of  his  predecessors.  True,  he  has  had  good  foundations 
on  which  to  build. 

Not  long  after  the  re-union  in  1870,  the  Memorial 
church  was  organized  to  worship  in  the  edifice  erected  by 
Mr.  Calvin  Wadhams  to  the  memory  of  his  children, 
who  had  been  taken  to  the  upper  fold. 

The  Church  of  the  Covenant,  composed  of  colored 
people,  had  also  been  organized,  but  a  short  time  ago  it 
was  dissolved  by  the  Presbytery  of  Lackawanna. 

In  1888  Westminster  church  was  organized,  and 
1889,  Grant  street.  These  churches  have  grown  and 
prospered  without  checking  the  growth  of  the  mother 
church,  only  showing  her  vitality  and  fruitfulness. 

The  Rev.  Winfield  Scott  Parsons,  a  minister  long 
enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne, 
although  not  connected  with  any  of  its  churches,  deserves 
notice  among  his  brethren.  He  was  regularly  educated 
for  the  ministry,  graduating  from  Lafayette  College  and 
Princeton  Seminary.  He  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Buffalo  City,  and  supplied  Lockport  church,   N.  Y., 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  33  I 

a  short  time.  After  that  he  seems  to  have  devoted  his 
life  to  educational  work.  He  came  into  the  Presbytery 
of  Luzerne  in  1856,  and  did  good  service  in  the  educa- 
tional institutions  of  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  still  resides. 


XXXVI. 
PORT  CLINTON  CHURCH. 

THE  village  and  community  of  Port  Clinton  had 
received  more  or  less  attention  from  Mr.  Webster, 
and  even  before  the  organization  of  the  Presbytery,  but 
the  services  were  not  maintained  with  much  regularity. 
No  church  was  organized  till  i860.  During  the  previous 
year  Mr.  F.  F.  Kolb  had  been  licensed  with  a  view  to  his 
occupying  that  place  with  other  points  contiguous,  and, 
in  connection  with  his  first  year  of  missionary  labor,  the 
church  was  organized  by  the  Presbytery.  It  reported  16 
members  the  next  year.  The  elders  were  Joseph  Cork 
and  John  S.  Rick.  At  the  meeting  of  Presbytery  to 
which  this  report  was  made  Mr.  Kolb  was  reported  as  an 
ordained  minister.  He  had  been  ordained  at  Scranton 
January  19,  1861,  as  an  evangelist,  but  was  reported  at 
the  regular  meeting  of  Presbytery  as  stated  supply  of  the 
Port  Clinton  and  the  Scots  church  at  "New  Mines," 
which  had  been  organized  with   22   members  and  three 

elders,  viz.,  Archibald  Wallace,  McDonald  and 

Robert  Neilson.  The  former  of  these  infant  churches 
was  made  up  of  professing  christians  previously  belonging 
to  different  denominations.  In  the  Port  Clinton  church 
there  does  not  seem  to  have  been  any  growth.  The 
Scots  church,  the  second  year,  reported  32  members.  At 
and  around  Port  Clinton  the  stable  population  was  Ger- 
man, and  our  church  found  little  material  from  which  to 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  333 

build.  At  New  Mines  the  population  was  fluctuating, 
consequently  while  good  was  done  during  our  occupancy 
of  this  field  our  work  did  not  result  in  establishing 
churches,  and  after  the  first  decade  the  effort  was  aban- 
doned. Mr.  Kolb  says:  "I  spent  several  years  in  hard 
work  in  my  old  mission  field,  and  I  was  knocked  down 
one  Sabbath  afternoon  by  a  Catholic  Irishman  as  I  was 
going  from  one  preaching  place  to  the  other."  He  spent 
one  year  in  supplying  Mahanoy  City,  probably  1865. 
Then  he  was  called  to  a  church  in  Northumberland  Pres- 
bytery, where  he  was  a  successful  pastor  for  seven  years, 
after  which  he  was  called  back  to  take  pastoral  charge  of 
the  Shenandoah  church  in  the  Presbytery  of  Lehigh,  of 
which  church  he  is  still  pastor. 

The  Shenandoah  church  was  gathered  through  the 
labors  of  the  Rev.  William  Edgar  Honeyman,  in  this  new 
coal  town,  December,  1866.  Mr.  Honeyman  was  a 
native  of  New  Jersey,  born  July  26,  1839.  He  was  grad- 
uated from  the  College  and  Seminary  at  Princeton, 
and  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Rockaway,  August, 
1865.  He  spent  the  next  year  as  stated  supply  in  Rock- 
away,  when,  in  1866,  he  entered  on  his  missionary  work 
in  Shenandoah.  He  was  so  far  successful  that  the  way 
was  prepared  for  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  to  organize  a 
church  March  17th,  1868,  consisting  of  Mrs.  Wm.  E. 
Honeyman,  Mrs.  Wra.  Grant,  Mrs.  John  Costier,  James 
Hutton,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richard  Romage,  Miss  Robenia 
Westwood,  Mrs.  John  A.  Lewis,  Mrs.  Honeyman,  Miss 
Hannah  Jones  and  Mrs.  Adam  Leckil.  James  Sutton  was 
elected  ruling  elder  and  regularly  inducted  into  office.  A 
short  time  before  the  organization  of  the  church  a  house 
of  worship    had   been    dedicated,    January    30th,    1868. 


334  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

This  showed  a  commendable  interest  in  spiritual  things 
on  the  part  of  the  new  town.  Mr.  Honeyman  says  of  his 
work  in  this  place:  "■  I  went  to  Shenandoah  in  Novem- 
ber, 1866,  and  began  work  in  a  school  house.  Only  one 
Presbyterian  was  there,  and  in  1867  we  began  to  build  a 
church.  An  organization  was  formed  with  Mr.  James 
Hutton  as  elder,  and  in  February  and  March  there  was  a 
revival  that  really  gave  us  church  life.  I  superintended 
the  Sabbath  School,  with  Mr.  James  Hutton  assistant 
superintendent."  This  church  has  always  maintained  a 
flourishing  Sabbath  School. 

The  early  erected  house  of  worship  was  burned  in 
1874,  and  the  records  of  the  church  up  to  that  date  were 
also  consumed  ;  but  we  learn  from  Mr.  Albert  Hoover, 
at  present  clerk  of  the  session,  that  after  Mr.  Honeyman 
and  Mr.  Hutton,  Mr.  Robert  A.  Glover  served  as  Sabbath 
School  Superintendent,  and  the  school  is  now  under  the 
care  of  the  clerk  of  the  session,  and  is  flourishing. 
Although  we  may  not  follow  the  church  minutely  beyond 
the  limit  assigned  to  this  history,  it  is  perhaps  proper  to 
say  that  the  loss  this  congregation  sustained  in  the  burn- 
ing of  its  house  of  worship  has  been  made  up  to  it  by 
the  erection  of  a  more  substantial  structure. 

It  seems  a  matter  for  regret  that  Mr.  Honeyman 
should,  for  any  reason,  have  had  to  leave  Shenandoah, 
where  he  had  succeeded  in  securing  such  ample  appliances 
for  a  still  more  successful  work.  The  foundations  seem 
to  have  been  well  laid.  The  little  church  from  the  be- 
ginning has  realized  that  it  does  not  exist  simply  for 
itself,  and  it  is  therefore  found  possessed  of  a  missionary 
spirit,  regarding  the  divine  command  :  *'  Go  ye  therefore, 
and  teach  all  nations." 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  335 

From  Shenandoah  Mr.  Honeyman  went  to  Oakland 
church  in  the  Second  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  The 
successor  of  Mr.  Honeyman  was  the  Rev.  John  C.  Clyde, 
a  Lafayette  College  and  Princeton  Seminary  man,  who 
had  been  a  Missionary  in  Iowa,  where  he  was  ordained  by 
the  Chariton  Presbytery,  in  which  he  did  good  service 
for  a  time,  but  his  most  important  work  has  been  as  a 
pastor  in  New  Jersey.  The  Shenandoah  church  has  had 
a  steady  growth  up  to  this  time,  and  has  exerted  a 
salutary  influence  in  the  community  where  it  was  planted. 


XXXVII. 


THE  MAHANOY  CITY  CHURCH. 


THIS  church  was  gathered  during  the  last  decade  of 
the  Presbytery,  in  the  new  coal  town  on  the 
Mahanoy  mountain,  about  ten  miles  south  of  Hazleton, 
and  not  far  from  Shenandoah.  It  is  probable  that  the 
Rev.  Wm.  Thomson  did  at  least  a  part  of  the  pioneer 
work  which  resulted  in  gathering  this  congregation,  while 
he  ministered  to  the  Tamaqua  church.  The  organization 
is  first  reported  to  Presbytery  in  the  spring  of  1863,  as  an 
organized  church  of  nineteen  members.  Of  this  number 
seventeen  had  been  received  on  certificate  and  two  on 
profession,  making  the  original  number  of  charter  mem- 
bers, and  was  reported  as  supplied  by  Mr.  Thompson. 

The  church  building  was  erected  and  dedicated  in 
the  fall  of  1862.  The  writer,  in  company  with  the  late 
Dr.  John  Armstrong,  then  minister  at  Hazleton,  was 
present  at  the  dedication  of  this  church.  The  sermon 
was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  DeWitt  Talmage. 

After  the  charge  of  the  new  church  passed  out  of 
Mr.  Thompson's  hands  in  1864,  Mr.  Kolb  seems  to  have 
had  charge  of  it,  in  connection  with  Port  Clinton  and 
the  Scots'  church,  as  appears  from  the  report  in  1865, 
when  the  membership  is  given  at  thirty-three. 

In  t866  the  Rev.  William  Henry  Dinsmore  took 
charge  of  this  church  as  its  regularly  installed  pastor.  He 
was  born  in  Green  Co.,   Pa.,  May  31,  1833;  graduated 


PRESBYTERY    OF    LUZERNE.  337 

from  Princeton  College  in  1857,  and  from  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  i860.  He  was  ordained  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  Nov.  19,  1861.  He  served  as 
stated  supply  and  pastor  of  the  Silvers'  Spring,  Pa.,  church 
from  1860-65,  and  became  pastor  at  Mahanoy,  1866. 
During  the  first  three  years  of  this  pastorate,  the  growth 
of  the  church  was  remarkable,  considering  the  size  of  the 
place.  In  1867  it  reported  fifty-seven  additions,  all  but 
eight  on  profession  of  faith,  and  subsequently  forty-eight, 
with  but  nine  by  certificate. 

After  this,  almost  every  one  in  the  congregation  had 
been  led  to  Christ.  Kemovals  afterward — especially  the 
departure  of  the  family  of  Elder  George  F.  Wiggans  to 
Philadelphia  —  was  a  serious  loss  to  the  congregation. 
Mr.  Wiggans  was  one  of  the  men  who  exerted  a  great  and 
wholesome  influence. 

Mr.  Dinsmore  was  released  from  his  pastoral  charge 
in  1869,  and  became  pastor  at  Stroudsburg,  where  he 
continued  till  1876,  when  he  was  called  to  Deerfield, 
N.  J.,  where  ended  his  earthly  ministry.  May   26,  1877. 

The  next  pastor  of  the  Mahanoy  church  was  the  Rev. 
Alexander  Miller  Woods.  He  was  installed  1870,  and 
therefore  among  the  last,  if  not  the  very  last,  inducted 
into  the  pastorate  by  the  Luzerne  Presbytery ;  and  it 
seems  to  have  been  no  misfit;  for,  notwithstanding  the 
constant  change  and  fluctuation  to  which  such  towns  are 
liable,  he  is  still  in  his  place.  He  also  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Princeton  Institutions.  He  came  into  Presbytery 
with  much  the  same  antecedents  as  Dr.  Belville,  and  has 
been  a  good  member  of  the  new  Presbytery. 


XXXVIII. 


THE  UPPER  LEHIGH  CHURCH. 


THE  Eckley  church  with  its  out-stations,  Clifton, 
Jeddo,  and  Ebervale,  owed  much,  during  the 
existence  of  the  Luzerne  Presbytery,  to  the  Council 
Ridge  Coal  Company's  assistance.  But  as  the  members 
of  that  honorable  and  efficient  company  removed  to  other 
homes  and  engaged  in  other  enterprises,  the  church  at 
Eckley  was  greatly  weakened;  yet  it  maintained  its 
existence  for  some  time  after  the  Presbytery  ceased  to  be. 
We  find  the  Presbyterian  element  of  the  company 
and  the  members  of  the  Eckley  church,  in  their  new 
connections,  establishing  or  helping  other  enterprises  of 
our  church.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  managers  of 
the  old  Council  Ridge  Company,  as  seen  at  the  above 
named  coal  town,  where  among  the  proprietors  the 
Presbyterian  element  was  largely  represented.  Soon  after 
movements  towards  the  development  of  the  coal  interest 
were  begun  at  this  place,  measures  were  taken  to  build  up 
another  Presbyterian  church,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
encouragement  was  also  given  in  assisting  other  denomi- 
nations in  building  up  their  interests.  Judge  Leisenring 
in  particular,  who  had  done  so  much  to  inaugurate  and 
stimulate  church  work  at  Eckley,  was  no  less  interested  in 
the  religious  wants  of  this  new  town,  where  his  skill  as  its 
engineer  has  done  so  much  to  make  its  material  arrange- 
ments minister  to  the  comfort  and  esthetical  enjoyment 


PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE.  339 

of  those  who,  in  the  employment  of  the  coal  company, 
must  make  the  town  their  home  and  the  home  of  their 
wives  and  children.  This  company,  and  many  others  in 
the  general  coal  region  of  Pennsylvania — let  it  be  said  to 
their  honor  —  have  been  interested  in  the  moral  and 
spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  theaters  of  their  business 
operations. 

Preaching  of  the  gospel  was  provided  for,  as  soon  as 
possible.  The  services  of  the  minister  in  Conyngham 
Valley,  the  Rev.  John  Johnson,  were  secured  for  a  part 
of  the  time;  and  on  June  21,  1869,  a  committee  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Luzerne  organized  a  church  in  Upper 
Lehigh,  with  Mr.  Parker  Price  its  ruling  elder.  The 
report  to  the  meeting  of  Presbytery,  April,  1870,  gives 
ten  as  the  number  of  members.  It  was  indeed  a  child  of 
our  Presbytery;  but  we  have  only  to  do  with  its  birth  ;  it 
must  henceforth  be  identified  with  another  foster  mother, 
viz.,  the  Lehigh  Presbytery.  We  are  glad  to  know  the 
infant  grew,  and  soon  enjoyed  all  the  functions  of  a  well 
appointed  church. 


XXXIX. 
THE    CHURCH     OF     MP:H00PANY    CREEK 

AND 

THE  REV.  EDWIN  BRONSON. 

THIS  church  first  appears  on  the  minutes  of  the  General 
Assembly  in  1856,  having  reported  19  menibers,  16 
of  whom  were  received  by  certificate  and  three  on 
confession  of  faith. 

The  Rev.  Edwin  Bronson  supplied  the  Mehoopany 
church  till  the  year  1859,  after  which  the  Rev.  Wni.  E. 
Holmes  had  charge  of  the  Mission  for  several  years,  in 
connection  with  Northmoreland.  Mr.  Bronson,  how- 
ever, resided  at  Mehoopany  for  some  years,  without 
charge.  In  1862,  he  is  reported  as  residing  at  Laporte  in 
the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna ;  the  next 
year  he  was  stated  supply  of  the  church  of  Laporte,  to 
which  he  continued  to  minister  till  1864.  After  this  he 
does  not  seem  to  have  had  charge  of  any  church  ;  and  in 
1874  his  name  was  })laced  on  the  list  of  honorably  retired 
ministers.  He  died  at  Arnot,  Pa.,  Nov.  3,  1893,  aged 
ninety-three. 


XL. 


THE  PLAINS  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

THIS  church,  about  midway  between  Pittston  and 
Wilkes-Barre,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Susquehanna, 
was  the  last  organized  by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne;  nor 
is  the  writer  able  to  determine  whether  it  is  the  child  or  the 
grandchild  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  church.  We  learn,  how- 
ever, that  the  pastor  of  the  older  church  officiated  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  which  constituted  it  in  the 
name  of  the  Presbytery,  by  the  organization  of  twelve 
Presbyterians  into  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Plains. 
The  ruling  elders  were  James  Allen  and  James  Steele. 

The  Rev.  Alexander  C.  Smith,  received  from  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York,  became  the  first  pastor  of  the 
new  church  and  he  seems  to  have  been  encouraged  in 
his  work.* 


*Whatever  uticertaiuty  there  may  have  been  about  the  maternity  of  the 
Plains  church,  there  could  be  none  as  to  that  of  another  church  constituted 
soon  after  the  reunion  of  1870,  viz.,  the  West  Pittston  church,  organized 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Lackawanna  in  1871.  It  seems  proper  to  mention  this 
organization  in  order  properly  to  exhibit  the  fruitfulness  of  the  First 
church  of  Pittston  from  which  it  sprung.  Other  evidence  has  before 
appeared  attesting  the  same  fact. 


XLI. 


GNADENHUTTEN  CHURCH. 


THIS   is   the    name  of  a  Mission   established  by  the 
Moravians  about  the  middle  of  the  last   century, 
some  miles  south  of  Mauch  Chunk,  Pa. 

It  was  for  a  time  successful;  quite  a  village  had  been 
gathered,  consisting  of  the  missionaries  and  the  Indians, 
many  of  whom  had  been  converted  to  Christianity.  But 
in  1755,  with  no  warning  of  approaching  danger,  an 
assault  was  made  on  the  peaceful  village  by  the  savage 
Indians.  Seven  of  the  missionaries  were  slain,  the  hamlet 
burned,  and  the  Christian  Indians  widely  scattered,  never 
to  return.  This  gave  the  place  a  kind  of  sacred  memory, 
and  it  was  long  the  desire  of  Presbyterians  to  maintain 
work  on  that  hallowed  ground.  Our  Presbytery  in  1859 
organized  the  church  of  Gnadenhutten,  but  their 
number  was  few,  only  nine  members,  and  the  population 
sparse  and  scattered,  so,  in  the  absence  of  a  settled 
minister,  who  could  not  be  provided,  there  was  no 
prospect  of  growth;  therefore,  in  1862,  Presbytery 
dissolved  the  church  and  dismissed  its  members  to  Mauch 
Chunk  and  Summit  Hill  churches. 


CONCLUSION. 

IN  1870  the  Luzerne  Presbytery  reported  32  churches, 
and  this  list  does  not  embrace  some  of  the  churches 
which  had  appeared  on  its  roll  and  which  reappear 
afterward  on  the  rolls  of  Lackawanna  and  Lehigh  Presby- 
teries. Twenty-seven  years  before,  this  Presbytery  was 
constituted  by  the  General  Assembly,  with  eleven 
churches,  and  two  of  these  were  set  back  to  the  Presbytery 
of  Northumberland  by  the  same  body.  It  is  also  true 
that  several  additional  churches,  which  had  been  over- 
looked, were  subsequently  added  to  the  eleven. 

The  Assembly  named  eight  ministers,  one  licentiate 
for  the  new  Presbytery,  with  four  candidates.  The 
Presbytery  reports,  in  1870,  twenty-nine  ministers,  one 
licentiate  and  two  candidates.  The  church  membership 
at  the  time  of  the  organization  was  nine  hundred  and 
seventy-seven.  In  1870  there  were  reported  three 
thousand,  three  hundred  and  forty-six  communicants, 
and  four  thousand,  one  hundred  and  fifty  Sabbath  School 
members. 

The  value  of  church  property,  at  the  beginning, 
consisting  of  churches,  manses  and  school  buildings 
belonging  to  the  congregations  entering  into  the  new 
Presbytery,  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  from  ^10,000  to 
5815,000.  And  the  annual  contributions  of  its  churches 
for  1843,  $488.00  though  in  this  reported  sum,  congre- 
gational expenses  were  probably  not  included. 

The  annual  contributions,  as  reported  in   1870,  were 


344  PRESBYTERY  OF  LUZERNE. 

$60,690.  The  Presbytery  has  organized  twenty-seven 
churches,  and  ordained  to  the  ministry,  twenty-nine. 
Fifteen  were  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel. 

No  case  of  doctrinal  difference  ever  demanded 
Presbyterial  attention  during  the  twenty-seven  years  of  its 
existence.  No  case  of  appeal  from  the  action  of  the 
sessions  comes  to  the  mind  of  the  writer;  nor  does  he 
recollect  of  any  protest  against  the  action  of  this  Presby- 
tery ever  l)eing  entered  in  the  records  of  its  proceedings. 

Truly  the  brethren  of  Luzerne  Presbytery  dwelt 
together  in  love  and  unity,  co-operating  cordially  with 
each  other  in  every  good  work.  The  beloved  wife  of 
Richard  Webster,  whom  his  brethren  regarded  as  the 
father  of  the  Presbytery,  is  still  with  us,  and  Rev.  Dr.  N. 
G.  Parke,  honored  by  the  service  of  more  than  half  a 
century's  pastorate  of  one  church,  and  whose  work  in  the 
Presbytery  began  before  the  termination  of  the  first  year 
of  its  existence,  is  here  too,  as  deeply  interested  as  ever 
in  the  prosecution  of  that  work  for  which  the  Presbytery 
of  Luzerne  is  no  longer  responsible.  He  doubtless  can 
look  backward  with  abounding  gratitude,  and  forward, 
with  assuring  hope,  for  the  success  of  that  cause  which 
now  is  largely  entrusted  to  other  hands,  so  far  as  human 
agency  is  concerned. 


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